double tomato tuna carpaccio

the accompaniment to my asparagus, green bean and raw mushroom salad was equally delicious and equally summery – double tomato tuna carpaccio.

it was actually the starting point for the meal and was developed from a recipe that i found in a copy of the new zealand magazine cuisine, which a friend from work leant to me. the magazine was full of ideas for delicious summery food and i intend to try out a few of their recipes in the coming weeks.

the tuna was sushi grade and i marinaded it in lime juice for 20 minutes (turning over half way through, sprinkling each side with a bit of sea salt as i went) before slicing it thinly across the grain. this was laid out on a large flat plate and i then mixed the leftover lime juice with chopped tomatoes, thinly sliced sundried tomatoes, a thinly sliced shallot and cubed avocado. this was arranged on top of the tuna, drizzled with olive oil and finished with a sprinkling of chopped coriander.

the flavours worked really well and i particularly liked the contrast between the slightly sweet and chewy sundered tomatoes with the rest of the ingredients. if you try this and are wondering what wine to choose go for something floral – we had a gewürztraminer (torres vina esmeralda) blend which worked wonderfully with the food.

chermoula-marinated tuna

 

one of my new year’s resolutions was to make better use of my cookery books. over the holidays i spent an afternoon going through a few books and magazines making a list of things i want to try and cook this month.

one of the books i picked up was diana henry’s crazy water, pickled lemons. i have used this book quite a lot as she creates dishes with strong and vibrant flavours, using lots of fresh herbs and spices. each time the recipe has turned out well. today’s chermoula-marinated tuna was no exception with a strong spicy flavour that contrasted well with the herby, pomegranate-tangy jewelled couscous which we ate it with.

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thai tuna burgers

 

at the moment, fish is consistently the food i want to eat. somehow my body seems to be telling me it’s what the doctor ordered and given how healthy it is, i’m not arguing. so forgive me if i post another fish recipe. and just to let you know, i have a feeling there’ll be a few more to follow in the coming weeks…

these burgers were inspired by an old recipe clipping for tuna burgers which i felt needed spicing up. i’m also trying to use up things that have been in my cupboards too long and top of the list yesterday were the dregs of a bottle of vegetarian oyster sauce. asian flavours were required so i decided to head to thailand to flavour the burgers.

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