Taste With The Eyes: Yellowfin Tuna, Avocado Pineapple Mash

2.02.2009

Yellowfin Tuna, Avocado Pineapple Mash

Seared Fresh Yellowfin Tuna

Mirin, Sesame Oil, Tamari, Key Lime Juice

Avocado Pineapple Mash with Serrano

Steamed Jasmine Rice

Avocado, crushed pineapple, finely chopped serrano chiles, a squeeze of key lime juice and a pinch of Kosher salt are mashed together with a fork. Avocado and pineapple make an interesting flavor combination, perfect complement to the fish.

Whisk together equal parts mirin, sesame oil, and tamari, plus half as much key lime juice. Divide in half, one part for serving the other part for seasoning the tuna.

The sashimi grade tuna is coated with the sauce just prior to cooking. It is not left to marinate for more than a few minutes per side, as with fish this fresh, I did not want to mask the delicate complex flavors of the fish.

I used that great SCANPAN ceramic titanium non-stick fry pan from Denmark here! Heat the dry pan until very hot and add the tuna. Sear over high heat about 60 seconds per side. Serve the yellowfin tuna over the sauce with a scoop of avocado pineapple mash, steamed jasmine rice on the side. We thoroughly enjoyed this meal with a White Bordeaux, although a lighter style Burgundy/Pinot Noir would have been a good choice as well. For a terrific recipe using a similar sauce with king salmon, please visit here.

FRESH FISH ALERT !!!

Imagine my excitement when I walked into my neighborhood butcher shop to see Darko filleting his Yellowfin Tuna! Intentions to get anything other than yellowfin tuna went out the window! I was so glad to have my camera on hand too.

South Shores Meat Shop

Western Avenue at 25th Street

San Pedro, California

Tuna Facts: There are two species of tuna known as ahi, yellowfin and bigeye. Tunas are the fastest fish in the world; in fact, bursts of speed exceeding 20-30 mph are not unusual. They have streamlined bodies specifically adapted for efficient swimming, large white muscle masses useful for swimming long distances, and red muscle masses for short bursts of speed when chasing prey or escaping predators. For more interesting information on yellowfin tuna, nutrition, and sustainability status you can visit FishWatch.

Julia Child Quotes - TOUJOURS BON APPETIT!

“You should never apologize at the table. People will think, ‘Yes, it’s really not so good.'"

"In France, cooking is a serious art form and a national sport."

"It's easy to get the feeling that you know the language just because when you order a beer they don't bring you oysters." Paul Child on speaking French

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate. "

"Life itself is the proper binge."

"It was a Morsel of Perfection."

"I was in pure, flavorful heaven at the Cordon Bleu."

Julia Child sees herself on TV, July 1962, she saw room for improvement, and still she can say it was fun : "There I was, in black and white, a large woman sloshing eggs too quickly here, too slowly there, gasping, looking at the wrong camera while talking too loudly and so on...But it had been fun."

She has her own opinions on kitchen equipment: "Clairborne sniffed at our use of a garlic press, 'a gadget considered in some circles to be only one cut above garlic salt or garlic powder.' I happened to like garlic presses..."

Understanding Julia's captivation by French food: "This is the kind of food that I have fallen in love with: not trendy souped-up fantasies, just something very good to eat. It was classic French cooking, where the ingredients have been carefully selected and beautifully and knowingly prepared. Or, in the words of the famous gastronome Curnonsky, 'Food that tastes of what it is.' "

"You never forget a beautiful thing that you have made. Even after you eat it, it stays with you - always." Julia's instructor, Chef Bugnard at Le Cordon Bleu

"Oh, 'crise de foie,' that French sole was so delicious!"

Julia's passion comes through loud and clear as she describes a fish dish: "La Truite's true glory was the Sole a la Normande, a poem of poached and flavored sole fillets surrounded by oysters, and mussels, and napped with a wonder-sauce of wine, cream, and butter, and topped with fluted mushrooms. 'Voluptuous' was the word. I had never imagined that fish could be taken so seriously, or taste so heavenly."

Julia's unique way with words, on Crepes Suzette: "The creature named Suzette may or may not have been the mistress of the Prince of Wales, but whoever she was, she long ago inspired a magnificent dessert that is still one of our favorites."

"I am probably one of the few people around who saw the real Caesar Cardini making his salad. I was about 9 when my parents took me to his restaurant in Tijuana. They were so excited when big jolly Caesar himself came to the table to make the salad. And it was dramatic: I remember most clearly the eggs going in, and how he tossed the leaves so it looked like a wave turning over."

"With a handsome package such as Jacques's, you can neatly cut the top open at the table with a pair of scissors..." Julia on Salmon en Papillote

"There's no reason to be intimidated by the idea of making pâté. You can just think of it as meat loaf."

From Julia's dear friend Jacques Pepin, "You are what you cook."

"Understanding egg yolks will make you a master of hollandaise sauce."

Julia encouraging us not to be intimidated: "When you know how to saute your meat so it browns rather than steams, you're cooking. What's difficult about that? You heat the pan, you dry the meat, you don't crowd it into the pan, and you're browning it. Is that difficult?"

Food Quotes

"Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch."

Orson Welles

"Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are."
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

"Chefs, as a whole, say yes to any project, fundraiser, or tasting because they have such a generous spirit."
Charlie Trotter

"Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it's French or Italian or Japanese - you really don't need a cookbook anymore. "
Thomas Keller

"I love to make people happy."
Wolfgang Puck

"Fish sauce is to Vietnamese cooking as olive oil is to Italian."

The Little Saigon Cookbook by Ann Le

"I wish, I wish lunch could last forever...waiter, bring us one more bottle of wine..."

Jimmy Buffett

"My philosophy from day one is that I can sleep better at night if I can improve an individual's knowledge about food and wine, and do it on a daily basis."
Emeril Lagasse

"Gordon Ramsay makes me laugh because he knows that I'm not a chef."
Nigella Lawson

"You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else."
Mario Batali

"I always knew the importance of it, since I was three or four years old my mother used to feed me wine and water. I grew up with wine as liquid food."
Robert Mondavi

"No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at his/her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, and the wisdom of cookbook writers."
Laurie Colwin

"Food is a central part of our lives. It provides the body with fuel and raw materials for maintenance, growth, and repair. It draws together family and friends, anchors celebrations and rites of passage, and sometimes soothes the soul."
Ethan Becker