Oil Poached Tuna Salad Food

OLIVE OIL-POACHED TUNA

Steps:

• Let tuna rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Combine garlic, thyme, and red pepper flakes in a heavy skillet. Pour olive oil into skillet to reach a depth of 1 inch. Heat oil over medium heat until garlic and thyme begin to sizzle, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Place tuna gently in hot oil and reduce heat to low. Cook steaks in hot oil, spooning oil over the top of the steaks constantly, until fish is white and hot, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from heat, transfer steaks to a baking dish, and pour hot oil and herbs over the fish. Cool fish and oil to room temperature.
• Wrap baking dish tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate steaks for 24 hours. Remove fish from oil and sprinkle sea salt over the top.

OLIVE OIL POACHED TUNA INFUSED WITH THYME, LEMON, AND SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Season the tuna with salt and pepper and set aside. Combine the oil, thyme, lemon, garlic, red pepper and shallots in a large saucepot. Warm the oil over medium heat until it reaches 130 degrees F. Let the flavors steep for 10 minutes. Re-test the temperature, adjusting the heat, if necessary. Submerge the tuna in the olive oil poaching liquid and cook until it is firm and medium-rare, approximately 5 minutes.
• Remove the tuna from the oil. Slice each piece. Arrange the tuna medallions over stewed lentils accompanied by sauteed broccoli rabe. Serve seasoned with Fleur de Sel and moistened with the olive oil poaching liquid.
• Place the lentils in a pot. Add enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches. Season the water with salt then simmer the lentils over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the lentils are chewy, about 15 minutes. Drain the lentils and reserve.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium pot, over medium-low flame. Add the shallots, garlic, crushed red pepper, and rosemary. Cook stirring frequently until the shallots and garlic are golden, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato puree and cook until it begins to concentrate, about 7 minutes. Then add the lentils. Stew the lentils in the sauce over a very low flame until they are fully tender but still holding their shape, about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

OLIVE OIL POACHED TUNA MELTS

Steps:

• Place the oil, thyme, rind of the lemon peeled into strips, bay leaves and crushed garlic in a pan and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Then remove the pan from the heat and add the trimmed fish. Let stand 20 minutes. Then remove the fish, reserving the poaching oil, cool and flake.
• In a bowl, combine the juice of the lemon with 1/3 cup reserved poaching oil. Whisk to combine and season with salt and pepper. To the dressing, add the celery, onions, hot and sweet peppers, olives, parsley, capers and tarragon. Season the fish with a little seafood seasoning and add to the salad. Combine with the tines of a large fork, cover and store.
• To serve, place the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the broiler.
• Shred the Cheddar or Gruyere cheese on the large side of a box grater.
• Pile the tuna salad on the bottom of the rolls. Top with the cheese. Place both the bottoms and tops under the broiler to toast and melt the cheese, 2 minutes. Serve hot.

OLIVE OIL POACHED TUNA

Steps:

• For warm chick pea salad, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saute pan.
• Sweat roasted garlic, red onion to colour lightly, about 1 minute; add chick peas and toss to warm through.
• In the pot, roughly mash garlic and one third of chick peas.
• Increase heat to medium high, add chicken stock and let simmer, reducing slightly.
• Take off heat; toss in tomatoes, basil, lemon juice and zest.
• Dress with 3 tbsp infused poaching oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
• For herb and olive salad, toss all ingredients together and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature.
• Prepare poaching oil, in a medium heavy bottomed pot, add olive oil, garlic, bay leaves, rosemary and peppercorns.
• Bring up to low simmer and take off heat. Let stand overnight, if possible.
• Using a thermometer, bring poaching oil up to 130 deg F in a medium heavy bottomed pot.
• Remove tuna from fridge, and leave at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. Season both sides well with salt and pepper.
• When oil reaches 130 deg F, gently place tuna steaks into pot. Leave tuna in oil off heat, for 7 - 8 minutes. (If steaks are thicker than 1 inch, leave in oil for another minute or two; if less, adjust accordingly.)
• When cooked, remove from oil, draining well.
• To make balsamic glaze, combine balsamic vinegar and honey in a small saucepot. Reduce over low heat until syrup consistency.
• To prepare tartare, combine all ingredients in a small glass or ceramic bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Finish with additional tsp of olive oil, if desired.
• To serve, tear leaves off endive and use to scoop up tartare

OLIVE OIL-POACHED ALBACORE TUNA

Steps:

• Season the tuna by sprinkling it with salt; set the tuna aside while you prepare the oil (this has the added benefit of taking the refrigerated chill off the tuna before cooking it.
• Choose a medium frying pan or large saucepan big enough to hold the fish in a single layer. Add enough oil to come about 1/2 inch up the pan.
• Add the garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf, orange or lemon zest, and chile (if using).
• Warm the oil over medium-low heat just until bubbles form on the sides of the pan. Add the tuna; use a spatula or kitchen tongs to gently lower each filet into the oil, taking care not to drop the fish in or splatter the hot oil.
• The oil should cover the tuna (if it doesn't follow the directions in parentheses). Adjust the heat to maintain those few bubbles on the sides of the pan. Gently simmer until the tuna's cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes for a 1 inch-thick piece of tuna (if the oil doesn't quite cover your filets, you may want to flip the fish over at the half-way point. While the fish cooks, set a cooling rack over a rimmed baking sheet or layers of papers towels; or simply line a plate of a few layers of paper towels.
• Use a spatula or slotted spoon to lift the tuna out of the oil and onto the prepared cooling rack or towels to drain. Serve the filets whole for diners to cut up themselves; slice them to serve; or, flake the filets into something that resembles canned tuna. * Look for line-caught Pacific albacore tuna as it is a well-managed and sustainable fishery . Also, albacore caught this way tend to have very low levels of mercury built up in their systems.