Thursday, April 5, 2012

Rosie Cooks Tuna For Lunch.

 The Hawthornes are having tuna filets
and a vegetable saute for lunch -
mushrooms, onion, red pepper,
fresh-picked asparagus from my rose bed.
Thank you again, little bird,
for dropping that seed.


We picked up 3 lovely filets at Billy's Seafood,
which is finally open for the season.

Here's my seasoning mixture:
equal parts black sesame seeds,
 white sesame seeds,
and cayenne.

Toast in a dry skillet.
Be sure to have adequate ventilation.
That cayenne will do a number on your respiratory system.
Our cayenne mixture is our own.
I grew the peppers and
Mr. Hawthorne dried and ground them.
We have different-sized pieces
from dust to seeds.

Sprinkle spice mixture over filets.



My self-seeding cilantro is starting to bloom.
Cilantro leaves of different maturities
 have slightly different flavors.
I have a melange of cilantro flavors here.


Let tuna come to room temperature
before sauteing it.

For the veggies,
I have mushrooms, asparagus from the garden,
red pepper, and onion.

I poured a little oil in my pan
and browned the mushrooms first.

Then I added the asparagus and red peppers ...


...  and the onions.

I like to add a tablespoon of sugar.
It brings out the natural sweetness of the veggies.
Freshly ground salt and pepper to taste.

Cook maybe one minute.
You want crisp/tender.

Set aside and keep warm and happy.


I heated my cast iron pan over high heat
and added a little butter (for flavor)
and a little oil (to raise the smoke point).

When the butter sizzles,
I put the tuna steaks in.

One minute, each side.
This is HIGH heat.

Do NOT over cook tuna.
Remove tuna from pan.
Keep warm.


I deglazed the pan with the juice of one lemon
and about 1/3 cup white wine.
Reduce this mixture by half.


After the mixture reduces,
whisk in a few tablespoons of butter.
Serve reduction sauce over tuna.



I chopped up cilantro leaves and stems
and zested a lemon.
Sprinkled that over tuna steaks.

The only way to top this 
is if my cilantro had been producing coriander seeds -
not the hard brown seeds ready to plant,
but the immature green seeds which, when eaten,
burst citrus and intense cilantro flavor in your mouth.

If you haven't experienced raw, green coriander seeds,
you're missing out on a wonderful flavor sensation.
I never would have known about the coriander seeds
if I hadn't been growing my own cilantro.


It's hard to get properly cooked tuna
when I go out to restaurants.

So I've stopped ordering it.

I hate being disappointed when I order tuna.
For some reason,
people think tuna should be served gray.

Mr. Hawthorne likes his tuna a bit more cooked than I do.
I acquiesce.
It's the least I can do for him.



I ate the third filet.
Mr. Hawthorne left the table,
so that means it's MINE.
I relished it with gusto!

That reduction sauce was some kind of good.
See the dark liquid drops up there?

The heat my iron skillet retained,
while I ate my first plating,
turned the ignored reduction
into a caramelized, hideously fantastic sauce.
I took my tuna bites and swirled them in the pan
to get every last bit of sauce.
That's how good it was.


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe if restaurants started with thicker cuts, they wouldn't have such a hard time cooking it properly. That tuna looks soooooo goooooood!

Rosie Hawthorne said...

Anony, I've had thick cuts at restaurants which were ruined by over cooking. I've found it's hit and miss when ordering tuna steaks.