10ea
Bigeye Tuna loin, 4oz each
3 bn Rainbow Swiss Chard (about ½#)
6oz Pancetta (can substitute Slab bacon or sliced)
5 ea leeks
12 ea Garlic cloves
2C Ver Jus, or white grape juice
4C Vegetable Stock
10sp Thyme
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2ea Bay Leaf
t.t. salt and pepper
24oz Fingerling potatoes
2T vegetable oil
1-1/2C Olive oil (1C for cooking garlic, 1/2C for garnish)
5sp Lemon Thyme
1ea Lemon zest dried
1t fennel pollen
1/2t toasted coriander seed ground |
Directions:
Cut
the bacon into lardons or into pieces about the size
of a postage stamp.
Peel the Garlic, put in a small sauce pot and cover
with the 1C of olive oil. Bring the heat to low and
cook the garlic until soft. Do not boil the garlic,
barely simmer is best. This yields soft, cooked garlic,
as well as 1C of very flavorful garlic olive oil.
Tie the thyme and bay leaf together with some kitchen
twine.
Cut the Leeks into coins about ¼" thick and put in
a bowl with cold water. Be sure there is enough room
for the leeks to float, the sand will fall to the
bottom.
Trim the rainbow swiss chard by separating the leaves
from the stems. Next cut the stems into uniform sized
pieces. Batons, squares, diamonds, etc. I prefer batons
about ¼" wide and 2-1/2" long.
In a heavy bottom pot, add 1T of oil and the Pancetta.
Render the Pancetta until almost crispy. Drain the
leeks and pat dry. Add them to the pot, season, and
begin to cook gently until they are tender, about
10 minutes. Add the cooked garlic and about another
1 or 2T of garlic oil. Once the garlic has developed
an aroma, add the ver jus and reduce by half. Add
the vegetable stock, and return to a simmer. Adjust
seasoning.
Simultaneously, bring a medium sized pot of salted
water to a rolling boil. Once you have added the vegetable
stock to the leek mixture, add the stems to the boiling
salted water. In about 2 minutes remove the stems
from the water and add them to the leek mixture. If
you are serving the chard immediately, let the stems
simmer for 2 minutes in the leek mixture then add
the tops to the boiling water for 15 seconds. Drain
and add them to leek mixture also. Check seasoning
and serve.
If you are serving another day, after the stems have
been added to the leek mixture, and they have simmered
together for 2 minutes, remove from the heat and chill
immediately in an ice bath. Separately, cook the tops
in the boiling water for 15 seconds, remove, chill
in an ice bath, and drain. Reserve the tops so you
can add them at the last minute when you are heating
the stems.
Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut them into coins about
1/3" thick. In a heavy bottom pan add 1T vegetable
oil and sauté the potatoes until golden brown and
tender. Season with salt and pepper.
Prepare a grill. Once hot, brush the tuna with a little
oil, and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
Place on a hot area of the grill, and cook to desired
temperature.
To plate, place the braised swiss chard (stems, leaves,
leeks and garlic) in the center of the plate with
some of the braising liquid. Arrange the potatoes
around the outside and on the chard. Cut the tuna
into thirds and arrange on top. Garnish with lemon
thyme, lemon zest, the fennel pollen, coriander, sea
salt and extra virgin olive oil.
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