The other day Mr. C. and I were shopping at our local IGA here on the island. He happened to notice that in the freezer section with all the other seafood options, appeared a shrink-wrapped package of thick, boneless, skinless tuna steaks. He showed it to me and said, “what do you think?” I said, “let’s go for it!”. And oh, am I glad I said that! Because Nagi’s recipe on recipetineats.com for Tuna Steaks served with Sauce Vierge (slightly modified by me) is one of the best and easiest entrées I ever made or eaten. Absolutely delicious! And the whole meal had been exceedingly easy to prepare.
I served the fish with Easy Plain Polenta (recipe below) and steamed broccoli. Yum, yum, YUM!
So, if you too have ever wondered if frozen tuna was worth the effort, I can only tell you, my experience. The tuna was perfect. I let it thaw completely and then used paper towels to dry it off a bit. Then went from there with the recipe below.
I think the main reason the tuna was so perfect is because when fish is frozen within hours of harvest, the freezing process stops deterioration and actually preserves the freshness of the fish. Plus, when seafood is frozen at sea and sold still frozen, we the consumer get to decide when to defrost the fish and can thaw it right before cooking. So, will I be buying more frozen tuna next time I go to the store? You bet your sweet bippy!
And since I’m sure you were wondering – Sauce Vierge is the French version of salsa. Salsa apparently can be traced back to the Inca, Mayan, and Aztec civilizations of Central and South America. Whereas Sauce Vierge was popularized in the 1980s by Michel Guérard, a French chef, author, and one of the founders of nouvelle cuisine.
And since I needed to have “nouvelle cuisine” defined for me, I thought you might appreciate the definition too.
According to the Oxford dictionary, nouvelle cuisine is “a modern style of cooking that avoids rich, heavy foods and emphasizes the freshness of the ingredients and the presentation of the dishes.”
Well, that’s it for today. I am spending my week getting ready for a 3-band picnic here at Chez Carr next Sunday. So, I am spending a bit of time each day baking, mixing, shredding, dicing, whisking, etc., and generally dirtying up my kitchen in preparation for the gang. In other words, I am doing what I love. Feeding people, I know and love, and those I hope to know better. And trying in my own way to spread a little joy.
It’s a tough reality we are living through right now. Most of what is happening to our country makes no sense to most of us. It’s a tumultuous time, to say the least. So, getting together with friends and family and sharing a meal, or going for a hike, or teeing off for a round of golf, etc., can serve as a reminder of what is still wonderful about our own little corner of this crazy world. We need each other. And we all need to know we are not alone.
So, invite a friend over. Bake a batch of cookies and share them with your neighbors. Take someone a bouquet of flowers from your yard. In your own way, let people know how much they mean to you. It’s the simple gestures that make the most impact.
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
No not just for some but for everyone
(Thank you Hal David.)
And as always, peace and love to all.
For the Sauce Vierge: (make this before you cook the tuna steaks)
3 T. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 T. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. anchovy paste
¼ tsp. finely minced garlic
½ tsp. finely minced parsley
½ tsp. finely chopped basil
1 tsp. capers, drained and roughly chopped
pinch kosher salt, or more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. finely diced shallot
6-8 cherry tomatoes, diced
6 kalamata olives, sliced
Mix ingredients in a bowl. Taste and add more salt if needed.
For the Tuna Steaks:
8-12 oz. thick, boneless, skinless, tuna steaks
extra virgin olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
On a small baking pan or dinner plate, drizzle olive oil over the tuna. Smear the oil with your fingers over one side, then lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat.
Heat a skillet (preferably a skillet with grill lines) over high heat until smoking hot.
If your skillet is not well-seasoned, brush the skillet with olive oil or take pan off stove and spray with any cooking oil.
Place tuna steaks in the skillet and cook for 45 seconds.
Turn steak 45 degrees. Continue cooking for another 45 seconds.
Flip the tuna carefully, then leave for 1 minute or until the internal temperature in the middle reads 118-degrees.
Remove tuna from skillet and place on a cutting board. Rest for 5 minutes. (The tuna will cool down to almost room temperature. That’s what you want!) Slice the steaks into 1-inch pieces. Plate the tuna and spoon the Sauce Vierge over the top. Then drizzle just a bit more olive oil over the whole mess. Serve immediately.
Great with Easy Plain Polenta. See recipe below.
EASY PLAIN POLENTA
1½ c. water
½ c. whole milk
rounded ¼ tsp. fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
½ c. polenta (not instant)
2 T. unsalted butter
In a medium saucepan, bring water, milk, salt, and pepper to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium. While whisking, slowly pour the polenta into your liquid over the course of about 1 minute. Take it slow! This ensures that there will be no lumps in your cooked polenta.
Once all the polenta is in the liquid, continue whisking until it starts to thicken, about 2 minutes. Then turn down the heat to low and cover the pan. The polenta should be gently bubbling but not fully simmering. Set a timer for 30 minutes and be sure to whisk the polenta every 5 minutes or so to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
After 30 minutes, test your polenta. It should be soft and creamy, with no lumps or graininess. If you want your polenta to be slightly thicker, let it cook for another 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the butter. Taste again and add more salt or butter if you want a more savory or salty flavor.
Great side dish or base for any prepared food that would be perfect over mashed potatoes, quinoa, rice, etc.