One of my favorite recipe sites is:
bbc.co.uk/food/recipes
Those Limeys come up with some really interesting, innovative recipes.
Anyone who thinks British cuisine is all mushy peas and boiled to
death food hasn't been paying attention. Peruse the above-cited
(ahem) site. Try watching "Food Heroes" with Rick Stein on BBC
America. It'll change your mind in a Yorkshire nanosecond. I'm in
love with Stein. He's the anti-Gordon Ramsay. He's Keith Floyd
without the booze.
Friends are taking me to a sneak-peek tonight of the new Michael Moore
movie. So I thought I would make a dinner for us. Seeing some
gorgeous tuna at the grocery store, I quickly settled on salade
nicoise I also decided to make some french bread and a peach pie.
Just to gild the ranuncula. It's going to be very mild today in
Sacramento so it won't pain me too much to have the oven on.
While browsing the site above, I encountered this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/spicedtunasaladnicoi_84425.shtml
(see below for full recipe)
Now, I've never even considered schmearing tuna with apricot jam and
spices before searing it but ... fish is often served with various
fruit salsas (mango, whatever). And I love the idea of the cumin and
coriander. So why not? I will, however, only cook the tuna to
"rare". I've cooked it longer before and it was a hockey puck.
Purists will, of course, balk at this recipe. Note that it is not
entitled "Salade Nicoise" but Spiced Tuna salad nicoise. A small
distinction, perhaps. I think it looks terrific and I think my dinner
companions and I will enjoy it. We'll see.
TammyM (recipe follows)
Spiced Tuna salad nicoise
For the tuna
4 tbsp apricot jam
400g/14oz fresh tuna steak
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
2 tsp ground coriander
For the dressing
½ clove of garlic
2 tinned anchovy fillets (anchovy paste for me)
1 free-range egg yolk (I doubt my eggs' mommie went walk-about)
½ lemon, juice only
110ml/4oz olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salad
110g/4oz French beans, blanched, refreshed and cut in half
8 new potatoes, boiled until tender
10 black olives
8 quails eggs, boiled for 2½ minutes, peeled (I'll be using plain old
chookie eggs)
1 small baguette, thinly sliced and toasted
1 garlic clove
10 cherry tomatoes, roasted for 3-4 minutes
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/400F/Gas 7.
2. Spread the apricot jam over the tuna pieces.
3. Place the ground cumin and coriander into a bowl and mix to
combine, then place the tuna into the spices. Roll to coat and leave
to marinate for 20 minutes.
4. Heat an ovenproof frying pan until hot then add the tuna. Cook on
each side for 15-20 seconds, just to lightly brown the tuna. Transfer
to the oven to roast for 3-4 minutes, until just cooked but still pink
in the centre, or until cooked to your liking.
5. Meanwhile, for the dressing, place the garlic, anchovies and egg
yolk into a pestle and mortar and pound to a paste.
6. Add the lemon juice and the olive oil, and mix well.
7. Add the mustard and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground
black pepper.
8. To assemble the salad - place the beans, potatoes, olives and eggs
into a bowl, add the dressing and mix well. Transfer onto a serving
plate, cut the tuna in half and place on top.
9. Rub the toasted baguette slices with the garlic clove, then top
with the tomatoes. Place the tomato toasts around the edge of the
salad and serve.