Archive for the ‘ahi’ Category

Not your typical 4th of July BBQ

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010


We had some friends over for the 4th and wanted to make something nice and fancy but that still had some element of the Independence Day barbecue thing going on. I started with my classic ahi tartare. It’s becoming a bit of a signature dish for me, it’s always good and everyone loves it.

Next was a simple salad using some of my CSA bounty: mixed greens (I believe it was escarole and red leaf lettuce) topped with roasted beets, pecans, shallots and balsamic.

Then came the grilling for this epitome of summer holidays. I cut my whole CSA chicken into 10 parts and marinated them in white wine, olive oil and thyme. I grilled it…well, until it was cooked (I won’t give advice on grilling, it’s very subjective!). I served the halved, boneless chicken breasts on top of rutabaga puree and kale. This time the rutabagas were much larger so for 4 servings I only used 2 rutabagas. The proportions are equal to that of potatoes. It’s like making mashed potatoes but more interesting! Just to add some color, I snipped some chives on top.

Tasty tasty!

Soba Noodles in Dashi

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Dashi:
6 cups water

6-8 inch chunk of Kombu seaweed

Small handful of bonito flakes

6T soy sauce

3T mirin

Bring water to a slow boil with the kombu in it. It should take 15-20 minutes for it to boil (not a problem on my crappy stove, even on high!). Remove the kombu, kill the heat and put in the bonito flakes. Let them steep, off the heat, for 1 minute.  Strain through a fine-mesh strainer.  Add soy sauce and mirin and you have dashi!

I usually put the pot of dashi back on the stove on the simmer burner on low to keep it warm. I’ve also thrown dried shiitakes in to add some more flavor. This time I was out of them…woops.

Meanwhile, boil water and cook the soba noodles.  When they’re cooked, rinse them thoroughly in cool water. Set aside (or put in bowls to anxiously await toppings and broth).

Meanwhile, meanwhile, sauté up some sliced, fresh shiitakes in a little oil.

1. Bowl

2. Soba noodles in bowl

3. Top with sauteed shiitakes

4. Top with favorite protein. This time I used seared ahi. I’ve also used salmon, chicken and tofu.

5. Ladle in dashi

6. Garnish with green onions and, if desired, nanami togaroshi (also known in our house as “sprinkles”)

Enjoy!

Seared Ahi with Crispy Rice Cakes

Friday, September 11th, 2009


Last night for dinner I felt like being creative. When I started, I didn’t know what I was going to end up with. I began by throwing some sushi rice rice cooker, I didn’t know why but I thought I might end up using it. I ended up with this amazing dish, here’s how.

For “sauce”
2 shallots, minced
1T dashi miso (already has the bonito, etc in it)
1T grated ginger
1T soy sauce
juice of 1 lemon
2T rice wine vinegar
1/4c. sake

Put this all into a small pan, bring to a boil, and let it reduce slightly. Stir in a handful of chopped parsley and cilantro. Set aside.

I took two gorgeous pieces of fish, one piece of ahi and one piece of hamachi, sprinkle them with salt and pepper and seared them over high heat.

While those were searing, I grabbed a couple of scoops of the sushi rice out of the rice cooker. I mixed with that about a tablespoon of Nori Komi Furikaki rice seasoning. All it is is a mixture of sesame seed, salt, sugar, and seaweed and I love it! I got my hands wet so the rice wouldn’t stick and formed thin patties of rice and laid them, carefully, in a pan with about 1/4 inch a very hot olive oil. Don’t move them! when you can see that they’re very brown around the edges, then carefully flip them over to brown the other side. When crispy, remove the rice cakes and place them on a plate with paper towels to drain off the oil.

I assembled all this on the plate topping the crispy rice cakes with micro arugula greens that had just a hint of rice vinegar on them. Sliced the ahi and hamachi and topped with the sauce and then made a little side of cucumber sunomono salad (thinly sliced cucumber with some seasoned rice vinegar).

I thought this turned out amazingly well. My husband couldn’t stop raving about it all night! Let me know if it works for you too!