Friday night, our house hosted a "leaving town" sushi night in Micah's honor, since he's moving to Mexico at the end of the month. The dinner was a smashing success, but between that night, and the barbecue last weekend, there was quite a bit of leftovers in the fridge. So, this was a "use up the leftovers" creation, and many of the ingredients in this dish were pulled out of tupperware, and thereby saved from the garbage.
Salsa
1 c Medium Salsa (I used leftover Costco Salsa)
3 strips of Bacon (I used turkey bacon), chopped coarsely
3/4 c Grilled Corn, cut from the cob.
1/4 c Sweet White Wine (I used Muscat)
1 tbsp rendered duck fat (or whatever fat is convenient)
Get your pan nice and hot, melt the fat into the pan to coat it, and toss in your bacon. When the bacon starts to get nice and crispy, add the salsa and the corn, turn heat down to medium, and bring to a boil. Let the liquids from the salsa boil off, and when the whole mess is starting to dry out, add the wine. Cook the wine down until the liquid is mostly gone, and it's done.
Tuna
1/2 lb Fresh Ahi Tuna, sliced into 2x1x1/2" pieces (like thick pieces of sashimi)
1/4 c Wasabi Powder
1/4 c Flour
1/4 c Sesame Seeds
Generous amounts of Sea Salt and fresh ground Black Pepper
Olive Oil (not EV)
Combine dry ingredients in a tupperware tub, seal it and shake it to mix it all together. Pat the tuna dry with paper towels, and then dredge each peace thoroughly in the mix. Shake off the excess. Put a stainless steel fry pan over medium high heat, and add enough oil to go about halfway up the tuna pieces. About 25 seconds after the oil starts to shimmer, add the tuna, well spaced, to the pan. You'll probably have to do 3-4 batches even in a good sized pan. Cook each piece until a crust forms, approximately 1 minute to a side.
Cornbread
Actually, this was a leftover, and it wasn't my recipe. I made the "Cornbread, No Chaser" recipe from Alton Brown's Baking Book, only I substituted Blue Cornmeal, and added about 2 tbsp of crushed red pepper flakes. I'll post the full recipe when I get home... if I remember.
Also, I topped the cornbread with Jalapeno Jam that I bought at the Reading Terminal.
Autopsy
Oh, man was this tasty. The sweetness of the jam, the bold flavors in the salsa, and the light flavor of the tuna, all over the crumbly goodness of the cornbread. And each ingredient had a distinct spiciness, and yet none of it was overwhelmingly spicy.
What would I do different next time? Well, I'd like to try using thicker, fresher tuna so that it could remain pink on the inside. I think I would also dredge the tuna in the mix, then dredge it in egg, then again in the mix. I think this would give it more wasabi flavor, along with more crust, while protecting the tuna from cooking too fast.
(yay! first real post)
posted by Dan at 7:03 AM
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