Tuna Steak Two Ways. With Gremolata. Or With Fruit Salsa.

Today I'm cooking tuna and here's how to do it:  Get out your cast iron skillet.  Heat it up somewhere around 375°- 400°,  film the pan with some peanut oil (for high smoke point), add in a chunk of butter (for flavor), and when the butter gets all bubbly, carefully place in your tuna steak.  Cook 2 - 2½ minutes on the first side.  Turn it over and go for two minutes on the flip side.  Remove from hot skillet and plate, else it keeps on cooking.  If you want more of a sear or a blackened steak, crank up the temperature to 425° - 450° and cook for 1½ - 2 minutes the first side, 1 - 1½ on the flip.  Depending on the thickness of your steak and how hot your pan is (Get an instant-read laser thermometer.), you'll have a rare to medium-rare tuna steak.  Practice enough and you'll get the feel for this.

Now, about seasoning.  You can go simple, with just kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and you'll be just fine.  OR, you can sprinkle sesame seeds and use a teaspoon of sesame oil in with the peanut oil, OR, if you'd like a little heat, you can try some gochugaru seasoning (Gochugaru is Korean red chile pepper flakes.) OR you can crank it up with some togarashi seasoning (a combo of red chile, black and white sesame seeds, nori, poppy seed, and lemon and orange zest).

For starters, I have your basic seared tuna along with a couple condiments for you to try  - a gremolata and a fruit salsa - which complement the tuna steaks most agreeably, adding both freshness and brightness to the dishes.

Now that you know how to cook your basic tuna fillet, lets make the condiments.

First, the gremolata. 

Gremolata is a classic Italian condiment, zesty and herbal, typically made with parsley, garlic, and lemon zest.   Once you’ve made the original version, you can get creative and make variations on the theme.  For example, try substituting basil or mint, or even spinach for parsley.  Scallions, nuts, and various citrus zests (lime or orange) would be welcome flavorings also.  Any leftover gremolata can be used over vegetables, stirred into pasta dishes, added to your next batch of meatballs, or, with a little balsamic vinegar and more olive oil, used as a salad dressing.

I'm going with a fairly basic gremolata here.

Rosie's Gremolata

1 cup packed parsley, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

zest of ½ lemon

juice of 1 lemon

2 TB olive oil

Combine all ingredients.  Season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.  Top gremolata with red chile flakes.

For the tuna, I pressed lemon zest, kosher salt, and Lawry's seasoned pepper into the fillets, then seared them (in oil and butter) as directed above. 

I have my tuna, seasoned and ready, my gremolata is waiting, and, for a side dish, I picked some asparagus out of the garden.

I cooked up some basmati rice, steamed the asparagus until just crisp-tender, seared the tuna, then spooned the gremolata over the tuna and asparagus.

The next day, I finished up the gremolata with more seared tuna, steamed broccoli, and wild rice.

 

For my second tuna dish, bright colors and fresh flavors in my fruit salsa complement the fish perfectly.  I marinated the tuna steaks for about an hour in a mixture of 2 TB ginger juice with pulp and 2 TB soy sauce.   Whenever I buy ginger root, I slice it into one-inch chunks and freeze it.  That way, I always have ginger on hand.  Also, I've found that the best way to get juice out of ginger is to freeze it first, then peel it, and nuke the chunks for about 20 seconds.  You can easily squeeze the juice out by hand, or use a garlic press and get the juice and scrape off some of the pulp. 

 Sear fillets according to above instructions.  Serve with fresh fruit salsa.

 Fruit Salsa 

3 strawberries, diced

1 kiwi, peeled and diced

1 tsp sugar

TB cider vinegar

1 TB soy sauce

1 – 2 tsp chopped cilantro

Combine all ingredients and spoon over tuna fillets.

 

I marinated the tuna for about an hour in 2 TB each ginger juice with some pulp and soy sauce with a teaspoon of sesame oil.

My pan was hothothot,

with oil and butter.

Carefully place in the tuna fillet

to avoid splattering.

Cook about 2 minutes first side.

About 1½ on the other side.

At the last minute of cooking, I poured in the marinade.

Remove tuna from heat, plate, and pour cooked marinade over top.

For my side dish, I wanted something a little different.

I'm going with a snap pea stir fry. 

 

Vegetables for Stir Fry

snap peas

mushrooms, sliced

multi-colored peppers, chopped

onion, chopped

 

Heat your skillet over medium-high.

Film pan with a light coating of peanut oil, a little sesame oil, and butter. 

When the butter is sizzly, toss in the mushrooms and cook for about 90 seconds.

Add in snap peas and a sprinkling of sugar.  (½ - 1 tsp) Cook for a minute.

Add in peppers and onions.

Toss around.  Cook about 30 seconds and you're done.
Season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

I served the tuna on a bed of wild rice, with snap pea stir fry on the side, and fruit salsa on top.

Enjoy!

Mahi Tacos With Fruit Salsa And A Lime And Cumin Sour Cream Sauce.

On the menu today, we have seared mahi bites on a puffy taco with a fruit salsa.

 Youngest Hawthorne went deep-sea fishing last week and, being the Great White Hunter/Fisherman that he is, came home with LOTS of mahi mahi.

Photo and fish by
Youngest Hawthorne.
Truly, a beautiful fish.

 Previously, I made fried mahi bites.

Sweet, tender meat
with a crisp, light coating.
Doesn't get much better than this.

Oh wait...
It does!

Let's cook seared mahi mahi, tuck it inside a puffy taco,

and spoon on a fruit salsa and a seasoned sour cream sauce.

First, the puffy tacos.

I'm using regular flour tortillas here.

The secret is in the HEAT!

Pour about 1/8 - 1/4 inch of peanut oil in your pan

and crank it up to about 400° - 450°.

Yes.  You read that correctly.

The hotter the better.

Peanut oil is my go-to oil.  Neutral flavor and high smoke point.

Gently and ever-so-carefully, slide the tortilla into the hot oil.

And watch.

The air inside is trapped so it blows up like a balloon.

Turn over and brown the other side.

Then turn back over and brown any parts you might have missed.

 

You sort of roll the tortilla around in the hot oil.

And drain.

And there you have puffy tacos!

I'm going to lightly toss the mahi bites in seasoned flour,

then sear them in hot oil.

For the seasoned coating:

Mix together:

1/4 cup corn starch

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp onion powder

2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Mix all ingredients in a container, add the mahi pieces (about 1-inch cuts),

and toss to evenly coat.

Film a skillet with oil and heat to 350° - 375°.

Working in batches, add in the pieces one at a time so as not to drastically decrease the oil temperature.

And don't crowd the pan!

Cook about 1 minute on each side.

Remove from pan and drain.

Sort of fold the puffy tacos, add the fish bits, drizzle with the sour cream sauce,

and spoon on the fruit salsa.

Don't forget the lemon!

Sour Cream Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup sour cream

1 inch cube ginger

juice and zest of 1/2 lime

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

fresh chopped cilantro, to taste

For the ginger, I peel it, slice it, then run it through a garlic press, using all the juice, and the first scrapings of the fresh pulp.  The drier pulp I discard.

Mix all ingredients.

If you're not a fan of the cilantro, use parsley.

Mint would go nicely with this also.

Rosie's Fruit Salsa

2 kiwis, peeled and finely chopped

equal amount of fresh chopped pineapple (OK, you can use canned if you must.)

2 TB sweet red bell pepper, finely chopped

1 TB minced jalapeño

1 TB chopped red onion

juice and zest of 1/2 lime

Mix all ingredients.

As for the jalapeño heat factor, you can make this as hot as you like.

The heat is in the white ribs and seeds.  If you don't want it so hot, avoid these parts and just use the green. 

 Rosie Tip:  If you don't grow your own jalapeños and are picking them out of the produce department, here's a tip on finding hot peppers:  Don't get a smooth, solid green pepper.  Look for the white, wrinkly lines on the surface of the pepper.  That means it's HOT!

I love mahi!

Enjoy!

Rosie Prepares Rockfish In A Rum Butter Sauce With A Fruit Salsa.

Hi, everybody.
Lori VanderKamp,
 of The VanderKamps of Michigan,
visited with the Hawthornes recently.

The Hawthornes are serving.

 We've had appetizers -  Shrimp Caprese.


We've had Caesar Salad and homemade croutons.

Now, I'm on to the main meal.
This involves rockfish in a rum butter sauce
with a fresh fruit salsa.

I love a refreshing fruit salsa to serve with seafood.

I'm going with seedless red grapes,

strawberries, and kiwi.

Simply slice and mix together.

I sliced my rockfish filet into three pieces.
Freshly ground salt and pepper.
 

Heat the skillet over medium high heat.

Add butter and oil -

butter for flavor, oil to increase the smoke point.

Sear filets until almost done.

Maybe a minute each side.

Add a good splash of rum and reduce a bit.

Then add butter, a pat at a time,

whisking into the pan juices,

until you have a nice emulsified sauce.

Spoon sauce over rockfish

and top with salsa.

Stay tuned for the scallops.