I was therefore delighted when we recently hosted visitors from Scotland who wanted to try everything. I just prepared a variety of sea foods and put them all on the table for people to help themselves. We had bluff oysters with a little pepper, green-lipped mussels and littleneck clams steamed in white wine and parsley and flaked Coromandel Smoking Company kingfish on a dish. For pepper seared tuna, mix a little sesame oil with a tsp English mustard and brush over a tuna fillet cut in a log of even thickness at each end. Heat a dry frying pan until it is very hot and sear the tuna on the long sides. Take out of the pan immediately and cool. With a sharp knife slice as finely as you can and serve with finely sliced spring onion, soy sauce and wasabi.For a ceviche-style dish get some good quality fillets of white fish such as blue cod and slice as thinly as you can. Lay out on a large platter and dress with finely sliced spring onions and deseeded red chillies. Just before serving squeeze over the juice of a lime or two.
This was accompanied with salad greens. It was so simple, it was hardly cooking but was really delicious.
A few weeks ago a friend gave me some tuna. You may recall I have been the beneficiary of this friend's bounty in the past. This time we prepared two quite different dishes.
The first was spiced tuna with an aubergine relish. To make the relish, which would also go well with lamb or chicken, cut an aubergine into cubes, toss in olive oil and bake in a single layer on a baking tray at 200 for 30 mins or so. In a frying pan, soften half a finely chopped red onion then add 1/2 tsp each coriander, cumin, cinnamon, paprika and cook for a minute. Add 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes, 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1/2 a finely chopped green chilli and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked aubergine and add a pinch sugar, a squeeze of lime and salt and pepper to taste.Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil and season then sear in a hot grill pan two minutes each side. Serve on the aubergine and top with mint leaves.
For something quite different we had our old favourite tuna and white bean stew. This is a traditional Mediterranean method where the tuna is cooked in a sauce. Using a tuna steak per person, sear the steaks first in a pan and set aside. In the pan, saute 1/2 a finely chopped onion, 1/2 a finely diced carrot, 1/2 a stick of finely diced celery, 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic with 1/4 tsp each toasted cumin and coriander seeds, coarsely ground. Add 1/2 tsp Spanish paprika and a handful of black olives. Lay the tuna back in the pan in one layer and add 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chicken stock. Simmer about 15 minutes then add 1/2 jar of cooked butter beans and gently mix through. Sprinkle with parsley to serve. You will want some crusty bread to mop up the sauce at the end.
