Rosie Makes Broccoli Salad. And Tuna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love a good vegetable salad and this broccoli salad is wonderful as a side dish or as one of those stand-in-front-of-the-open-refrigerator-and-eat dishes.  It leaves you wanting more.

 

Rosie's Broccoli Salad:

1 head broccoli, stems peeled, chopped, and blanched

1 apple, cored, peeled, and diced, doused with lemon juice

1 cup "Salad Topper" 

Mix all ingredients. 

For the “Salad Topper,” you could certainly buy all these ingredients separately, but I found an assortment already put together – “Salad Topper” by Modern Mill.   They’re in the supermarket crouton section. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               There are numerous varieties of “Salad Topper” containing various combinations of dried fruits, nuts, beans, and seeds, but for this particular dish, I recommend the “Ranch” version with cranberries, cherries, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and ranch chickpeas.

 

 

For your culinary pleasure, here are the other combinations of salad toppers, so you can pick and choose:   

Ranch -  cranberries, cherries, walnuts, sunflower seeds, ranch chickpeas

Omega - cranberries, figs, almonds, walnuts, cherries, pumpkin seeds

Protein -  edamame, cranberries, cashews,  sunflower seeds

Summer Symphony - cranberries, blueberries, cherries, pecans, sunflower seeds 

Antioxidant - cranberries, honey roasted almonds, mango, blueberries, pumpkin seeks, sunflower seeds 

Maple Bacon - cranberries, maple pecans, bacon-flavored lentils, pumpkin seeds 

Farm Fresh - figs, walnuts, almonds, cherries, pumpkin seeds 

Take your pick and experiment. 

   To blanch broccoli, bring a pot of salted water to a boil.  Drop the broccoli pieces in and cook for one minute.  Strain the broccoli, then immediately transfer to a bowl of ice water to shock it and stop the cooking process.  The end result of blanching and shocking is perfectly cooked vegetables that retain their color and texture. Drain the broccoli and blot dry.

Dressing:

1 heaping TB mayonnaise

1 TB buttermilk 

2 TB sugar

2 TB cider vinegar

Mix well, pour over broccoli mixture, and toss until well-coated. 

 

Previously, I had served my broccoli salad with some tuna bites, which turned the tuna appetizer into a solidly good meal.  I liked it so much that I wanted MORE TUNA - as in the whole steak.

 

 I liked the patterns here - on the tuna and the shell.

 

 

   

For the tuna, I seasoned both sides with Togarashi seasoning, Lawry's Seasoned Pepper, and brown sugar. Rub the seasoning in.   Heat a cast iron skillet to 425°.  Add in a tablespoon each of oil and butter.  When the butter finishes sputtering and sizzling, place the tuna steaks in.  These were 1-inch + thick tuna fillets.  For rare, cook 90 seconds on first side, turn over and cook 60 seconds on flip side.  Remove from pan. 

 

 

 

  Deglaze pan with a little orange juice (maybe a cup) and Tamari sauce, (1-2 TB) scraping up all the goody bits.  That's where the flavor is.

    Pour pan juices over tuna fillets and serve.

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoy.  

Tuna Bites For A Terrific Appetizer.

 

 

Here's a simple and extremely tasty appetizer for you to try - my tuna bites.  Tuna steaks are cut into small bite-sized cubes, marinated for a bit, then seared in a hothothot pan for about a minute.  Caramelized on the outside, still rare on the inside, they're delicious all on their own or with the dipping sauce I made.

 

 First, cut tuna steaks into 3/4 -1-inch cubes.

Let the tuna marinate for about 30 minutes:

2 TB brown sugar

1 TB toasted sesame seeds

2 TB Tamari sauce (or soy sauce) 

 

What's the difference between Tamari and soy sauce, you ask?

Both are fermented sauces made from soybeans with savory, umami-rich flavors, but if you look at the ingredients list, soy sauce contains water, soybeans, wheat, and salt.  The tamari ingredients list is water, soybeans, and salt.  Tamari is gluten-free.  Tamari has a richer, more nuanced yet complex flavor, while soy sauce is sharper and saltier. Tamari is a bit thicker and makes for a better dipping sauce.

While the tuna is taking a bath, 

make the dipping sauce: 

3 TB Tamari 

1 TB rice vinegar 

1 TB mirin 

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 1-inch square knob of ginger   See Rosie Note*

 1 garlic clove, minced

 Mix all ingredients until well-blended.

Add in:

1 TB toasted sesame seeds 

sliced scallion

basil chiffonade  See Rosie Note*

 

*Rosie Note on ginger:

A lot of my recipes call for ginger juice.  One cannot get ginger juice from fresh ginger root.  What I always do is buy the root, cut it into 1-inch cubes, and freeze it.  That way I always have ginger on hand.  To use, I take a paring knife and peel the cubes while still frozen, then place them in a small bowl, and nuke for about 22 seconds.  You can now squeeze the cubes with your fingers and juice them easily.  After juicing, I put the cubes in a garlic press and scrape off what pulp I can and use that too.

 

*Rosie Note on chiffonade:

A chiffonade is a cutting technique.  Stack the basil leaves, roll them up lengthwise tightly, then slice across the roll to produce thin ribbons of greenery.  It releases lots of flavor and it's also just plain pretty.

 

Film an iron skillet with sesame oil and heat to about 400°.

Place tuna bites in skillet one at a time, keeping them well-separated.

One minute on the first side.

Barely 30 seconds on the flip.

The brown sugar caramelizes to give the tuna a lovely patina.

Immediately remove from heat and plate.

 

Enjoy.