Recipe #49 - Spicy Seattle Tuna Rolls

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Puree chiles, ginger, sesame seeds, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a mini-processor until paste forms. Transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in both oils and vinegar. Season dressing with salt.

If you couldn't find tuna sashimi, you can just buy the yellowfin tuna. Add a little sesame oil in a skillet and sear all edges, about 20-30 seconds per side.

Gently add tuna to the first mixture, toss to coat.

Place nori sheets on a work surface with short side facing you. Spread about 2 rounded tablespoons rice evenly on bottom third of each sheet.

Divide tuna among rolls, spooning over rice. Top with fillings. Roll into cones or log shape, using a few grains of cooked rice to "glue" to seal.

Now my mother didn't like the nori sheets very much at all. She dosen't like the texture. So I put together a little tuna salad over rice. She loved it. And I did too. It made me want to rewrite this whole recipe around this tuna salad. A-mazing.

Rating: 7
Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients:
4 green Thai chiles (or serrano peppers if you can't find the latter), stemmed, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon grated, peeled, fresh ginger
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more for seasoning
1/4 cup sunflower or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1 pound sashimi-grade yellowfin tuna fillets, cut into 1/8" cubes
4 toasted dried nori sheets, halved lengthwise
1 1/2 cups (about) cooked short-grain rice, cooled
Assorted fillings, such as sliced scallions, English hothouse or Persian cucumber, avocado, cilantro leaves, and/or chive blossoms.

Recipe #18 - French-Style Tuna Melt

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This recipe I got from the Rachel Ray website. I watched the video online before I went grocery shopping. I liked the way she grated the garlic into mush instead of mincing it with a knife. It was much easier and, like she said, it saves you from having to bite into chunks of garlic. I like the bursts of garlic in some recipes, but I could see where it could be distracting in this one in particular.

First, I pre-heated the oven to 375F. Then combined the onion and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. 

In the same bowl, I stirred together the tomato paste, garlic, Herbes de Provence, pepper, and EVOO. Then I added the tuna, olives, capers, parsley and mixed to combine and broke up the tuna slightly. 

Side note: Herbes de Provence is a new spice I just learned about. It contains a bunch of different spices including: savory, fennel, basil, thyme flowers and other herbs. Supremely yummy. 

Then I divided the tuna mixture between the two slices of bread, transferred to a baking sheet and topped with cheese. Then I toasted them in the oven for about 10 minutes (or until the cheese is melted and the tuna heated through).

I made this one on the first Friday of lent this year. I absolutely loved it. It was light and fresh, great for a midday meal. This was the first time I've use or even had brioche bread. Bread very rarely surprises me, but I was taken aback by the sweetness of this one. It reminded me a lot of the Hawaiian bread that I usually serve with spinach dip. I much prefer the taste of brioche now. 

Time: 45 mins
Rating: 7
Ingredients:
1/2 red small onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 garlic clove, finely grated or minced
1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence
Freshly ground pepper
1.4 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 can line-caught or Italian tuna (6 ounces)
1/2 cup Nicoise (oil-cured) or Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped 
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup parsley leaves, finely chopped, a small handful
2 slices thick-cut brioche bread
1/2 cup Gruyere cheeses, shredded