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A smart choice

Tuna's popularity has a long, long history
From the chef | Search restaurants | Archives

October 10th, 2007 issue

Jan Přerovský/THE PRAGUE POST
This beautiful, seared dish will please family and friends.
 

Tuna, as Marge Simpson once observed, is considered brain food. “Probably,” she added, “because there’s so much dolphin in it.”

Fishing controversies aside — and there are several — tuna has been a favorite since ancient times. Emerging Mediterranean cultures would roast it, salt it, smoke it or pickle pieces of it in brine. Most modern-day Westerners were introduced to tuna through tins and quick lunch sandwiches. It was tacky and white, with a pronounced flavor. Those who graduated from canned fish now see it as delicate, melt-in-your-mouth strips, bright red in color and arrayed on beds of sushi rice.
Five different species of tuna generally end up on dinner plates. Albacore is the white, firm version often used for canning. It has a familiar, pronounced flavor. When you find cans containing pale pink meat, that’s yellowfin, a monstrous fish weighing up to 600 pounds (272 kilograms). Blackfin is less popular.
The red meat prized by sushi chefs and gourmands is from adult bluefin tuna. These may grow to 1,000 pounds, and some fetch $15,000 or more in Japanese markets. A mature fish develops a bright sheet and rich flavors — more intense than albacore — when kept for a few days. Fresh, sashimi-grade bluefin starts with a firm, resilient texture, but quickly softens into something delicate and wonderful.
Skipjack — also known as bonito — yields equally dense flavors. But the meat does not hold the same feel as bluefin. In Japan, this variety is often dried and used as a seasoning.
It is said the Greeks would sound horns when shoals of migrating tuna were spotted. These days, commercial fishing operations track traveling shoals via satellite or helicopter. But, from ancient times onward, the popularity of this remarkable catch remains unchanged.
Guy Nuttall is chef at Monsoon, located at V.P. Čkalova 14, Prague 6–Dejvice.
SEARED TUNA STEAK & CURRIED POTATO
Ingredients:
2 steaks (about 180 grams) of sashimi grade tuna
8 teaspoons lime juice
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Oil

Curried potato:
200 grams potatoes cut into 1-centimeter cubes
Half a teaspoon ginger, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
10 grams onion, chopped
4 teaspoons olive oil
1.5 teaspoons madras curry powder
40 milliliters coconut milk
Salt to taste

Garlic-ginger soy sauce:
Half teaspoon ginger, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
3 teaspoons olive oil
60 milliliters dry white wine
4 teaspoons soy sauce
Juice from 1 lime
Salt and pepper to taste

Serve with:
Carrots, yellow zucchini and green zucchini, cut into thin strips and sautéed.

Preparation:

Curried potatoes:
Cook potatoes in a pot of boiling, salted water.
When potatoes are done, sauté onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil until the onions start to caramelize.
Add potatoes and curry powder, stir and continue to cook for a minute or so.
Add coconut milk and bring to a boil.
Simmer for five minutes then season with salt to taste.
Garlic-ginger soy sauce:
Using a pot, sauté the ginger and garlic in olive oil for one minute.
Add wine and simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.
Season with soy sauce, salt pepper and lime juice.

Seared tuna steak:
Season tuna steaks on both sides with salt, pepper and lime juice.
In a very hot pan, sear the tuna on each side for a minute or two (medium rare).
To serve, divide the potatoes onto two plates, arrange the vegetables around, top with the tuna, then spoon sauce around and garnish with fresh herbs.


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