Seared Tuna with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce and Sweet Corn Hash

In the heat of the summer, I'm always looking for culinary ways to cool off. I make raw vegetable salads, cold soups, and lighter meals. Even the Adorable Monster was feeling the heat. When our neighbors invited us over to their pool, I brought him with me and took him for his second ever swim. You wouldn't think it by looking at him, but he's quite the swimmer! In between trying to swipe grilled steak and chicken off unattended plates, he had a blast paddling around the pool. And afterward, he was even curlier than usual. A regular poof ball of fur.

So two weeks ago, with temperatures soaring into the mid-90's, I picked up some gorgeous, deep red Ahi Tuna from Whole Foods. One of the things I love most about Ahi Tuna is that it only needs to be seared, not cooked all the way through, which makes it taste fresh and clean. After some serious foodie meditation, I settled on making a cilantro yogurt sauce with fresh organic cilantro and plain Greek yogurt. I theorized that the sauce would give the dish an herbaceous, refreshing component. 

Boy, was I right! It was so tasty I wanted to eat it with a spoon. Seriously, cilantro flavored yogurt anyone?

To finish the dish, I whipped up a Sweet Corn Hash with Vidalia onions and organic zucchini in my cast iron skillet. The combination of the cilantro-yogurt sauce and the sweet corn hash was so delectable that I ate the leftovers with a fried egg substituting for the tuna the next morning. It was almost better, if that's possible. So stay cool this summer with this recipe!

Seared Tuna with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce and Sweet Corn Hash
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4 people
Print Recipe  

Ingredients
4 four ounce pieces of Ahi Tuna
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
salt and pepper

cilantro yogurt sauce
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

sweet corn hash
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 ears of corn, kernels removed
2 cups zucchini, chopped
1 Vidalia onion or other sweet onion, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
salt and pepper

Directions
To make the sweet corn hash, heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet or saute pan.  Add the onions and cook until beginning to soften (about 5 minutes). Add the garlic and saute for one more minute.  Then, add the zucchini and cook until becoming tender. Add the sweet corn kernels and cook the hash down in the skillet until it's tender and the onions are beginning to turn into jam. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, to make the cilantro-yogurt sauce, place all of the ingredients except the salt and pepper in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To cook the tuna, sprinkle both sides of the fish generously with salt and pepper.  Heat the grape seed oil in a saute pan over high heat. Place the fish in the pan and quickly sear on all sides (about one minute per side).  Remove from heat and allow to rest for at least five minutes before cutting into slices.

To plate, spoon some sweet corn hash onto a place. Top with pieces of sliced tuna and drizzle with the cilantro yogurt sauce.  Finish with chopped cilantro and fresh cracked pepper. Enjoy!

Wine Pairing
On this night, Kuzak was craving cabernet sauvignon, so we popped a bottle of 1994 BV Private Reserve George De Latour. I picked up the bottle while visiting the winery in Napa with The Wine Lover (my father). We decanted the wine first to allow it to open up. Heck, it had been in a bottle for more than fifteen years. The first whiff I took held great promise - musky, earthy, some latent fruit percolating up through my nostrils. It smelled just how aged cab should. The wine drank beautifully all night long, full of musk and blackberry fruit. It was a fabulous accompaniment to a softer meal, lovely but not overpowering. A great effort from a legendary producer. Bravo. 

Meatless Monday: Cannellini Bean Soup with Rosemary and Garlic Crostini

Divas, did you know that beans are one of the healthiest foods on the planet?  They even straddle two food groups - they have enough protein to be classified as a meat and enough nutrients to be classified as a vegetable.  That's impressive!  They're also packed with iron and calcium, making them a great meat and dairy substitute.

Cannellini beans have to be one of my favorite varietals.  Also known as white Italian beans and kidney beans, I love them for their mellow nutty flavor.  For this simple soup, I soak the beans overnight and then simmer them in water until tender (canned beans may be used in a pinch).  Them, I puree half of them with vegetable stock into a creamy broth and add the other half of intact beans, creating a rustic soup.  I serve this soup with garlic bread.  Add a green salad, and you have the perfect lunch or dinner. 

Cannellini Bean Soup with Rosemary and Garlic Crostini
Serves 4-6 people
Cooking time: 20 minutes (not including soaking and simmering beans)
Print Recipe

Ingredients
3 cups cooked Cannelini beans (canned beans may be substituted - make sure to drain and rinse them with cool water)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed from stem
2 sprigs thyme, leaves removed from stem
2 sprigs oregano, leaves removed from stem
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper

garlic crostini
4 slices of baguette
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove
4 sprigs rosemary

Directions
Place half of the beans (1 1/2 cups) into a blender or food processor.  Add the herbs, olive and stock.  Process until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into a stock pot and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups of beans.  Bring to a boil and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, toast the baguette slices.  Then, drizzle with the olive oil and rub with the garlic clove.  Top with a fresh rosemary sprig.

To serve, ladle the soup into bowls.  Top with a garlic corstini and drizzle with olive oil.  Finish with a little cracked black pepper.  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
dried cannellini beans from Bob's Red Mill (Whole Foods)

organic herbs from my herb garden

organic vegetable stock, organic garlic and baguette from Trader Joe's 

Top 10 Reasons I Love Eating In Japan! Plus Pictures From Sushi Dai By The Tokyo Fish Market!

Last week, I returned from my first trip to Japan.

While there, I dined on everything from tempura to ramen to chicken sashimi (yes, I ate raw chicken and loved it).  I literally ate my way through Tokyo and Kyoto.  Even though I didn't feast in any of the highest end restaurants, the food I ate was the best of my life.  Not to sound like an Alexander Hamilton-esque traitor, but if you ask me, eating in Japan in better than eating in the U.S. from street food to formal dining.  Want to know why? 

Here's my list of the top 10 reasons why I loved eating in Japan.

1.  The Freshness Of The Food

Everyone I've talked to about eating in Japan always mentions the freshness of the food.  I'll put it this way - the shrimp I ate at Mikawa were still wriggling around when they were beheaded, cleaned and tempura fried by our chef.  We ate them only seconds later.  Followed by their heads a minute later.  And this eye for fresh product holds true for everything from sushi to Kobe beef to fresh soba noodles made from recipes that are hundreds and hundreds of years old.  When I'm often asked about the secret to cooking great food, I always reply that your ingredients are more than fifty percent of the battle.  You're only as good as your product.  And when you have great product, you need to do little to it to make it taste amazing (note how Japanese flavors tend to be subtle). 

2.  Seasonality

While we're on the topic of freshness, the Japanese also eat very seasonally.  This ensures that you're eating product at the peak of its quality.  Everywhere we ate had seasonal additions to its menu.  My favorite summer treat?  Horse Mackerel.  In the fall?  Matsutake Mushrooms.  I've heard that there's even a word in Japanese that refers to food that's at the peak of its seasonality.

3.  No Napkins

The Japanese do not use napkins.  Rather, at the beginning of meals, you are presented with a warm towel to wipe your hands.  You keep this towel for use throughout your meal in place of a napkin.  Simply fold it up and keep it nearby.  Not only is wiping your hands at the beginning of a meal more sanitary, but eliminating the use of paper napkins reduces carbon emissions and landfill waste (think of how many paper napkins the U.S. disposes of each year). 

4.  Counter Dining

It's everywhere in Japan and accounts for most of the seating in restaurants.  Yes, tatami rooms are available for bigger parties, but I much prefer sitting close to the action.  Why is counter dining better?  Proximity to food is a big lure.  Not only do you get to witness the preparation of your food, but you also get to eat it right after it's been prepared.  No sitting in the window waiting for your server to deliver it to your table.  If you've ever sat at a sushi bar, then you know what I'm talking about.  Also, it allows restaurants to make maximum use of minimal space (hello Tokyo). 

5.  Restaurants Specialize

Every restaurant where we ate specialized in one kind of cuisine.  These specialties included tempura, sushi, shabu-shabu, ramen, soba, tofu, kaiseki and yakitori to name a few.  Having a small menu and focusing on one technique enables the restaurants to master it.  Hence, great food without the great price.  You'll also find that many successful restaurants have "branches."  This focus enables them to franchise without losing quality.

6.  Small Restaurants, But Tons of Them

If you walk down a street in downtown Kyoto, you'll be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of restaurants, occupying many floors, stacked above each other like Legos. Keeping the restaurants small keeps the overhead low and allows the chefs freedom to cook their cuisine. In turn, this opens up a huge marketplace of variety that benefits the consumer.  I always prefer eating in small restaurants. 

7.  The Street Food Kicks Ass

Forget about McDonald's (though the Japanese do seem to have an affinity for KFC).  You can eat a lot and eat well for under $10 in Japan.  Instead of greasy burgers and fries, think of huge bowls of Ramen filled with freshly made, chewy noodles and delicately roasted pieces of pork belly.  Or imagine the best sushi you've ever had in your life - and tons of it - for under $20.

8.  Course Dining or Bring On The Omakase!

Omakase basically means chef's choice.  Almost everywhere we ate offered coursed out meals at a fixed price or meal sets that included several options.  I much prefer this method of ordering - "Give me the best you've got and a lot of it."  I find ordering to be disruptive to the social experience of dining and always find that the chefs know their food better than you do, especially if it's your first time in their establishment.  It also adds an air of mystery and adventure to dining.  Sure, you might end up with some chicken sashimi, but you might also discover that it's delicious.  What's on the menu?  Just trust me. 

9.  Chopsticks

I know, they take time to master, but there are reasons why using chopsticks - and wooden spoons - instead of metal is better.  You see, metal has a taste and often reacts to food, distorting the flavor.  Wood does not - it's much more neutral.  Also, keep in mind that Japanese food is often designed to be eaten with chopsticks.  And if the dish is soup, a spoon always appears (a wooden one, of course).

10.  Sushi

Alright, you knew it was coming.  Sushi is one of my favorite things to eat in the whole wide world.  While I live in Los Angeles which I believe has the best sushi in the U.S., it's better in Japan.  And cheaper.  We ate at Sushi Dai by the fish market in Tokyo.  The meal was mind-blowing.  We ate omakase (see pictures below) and added on toro, snapper and other items.  It was by far the best sushi I'd ever tasted and the final bill was only around $35 per person including drinks (here this meal would have been no less than $100).

Here's my photo gallery of our meal at Sushi Dai:

Sushi Dai
Tsukiji Fish Market
Tokyo, Japan
Located in a row of barracks, in Building 6 in the 3rd alley (just past the mailbox); it's the 3rd shop on the right, Tsukiji

Meatless Monday "Mac N Goat Cheese" With Cherry Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, And Walnuts

Happy Meatless Monday!

I'm back with more great meatless recipe ideas.  This is my healthy take on the quintessential Mac N  Cheese.  Instead of elbow pasta made from wheat, I use a gluten-free brown rice rotini (the ridges are great for catching cheese).  I also use fresh goat cheese (chevre) to make a creamy sauce and load the pasta up with fresh vegetables including spring onions, cherry tomatoes and peppers.  I finish it with toasted walnuts (healthy fats and protein) and fresh basil.  I promise that even the pickiest eater will fall in love with this dish!

"Mac N Goat Cheese" With Cherry Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, And Walnuts
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4-6 people

Ingredients
1 pound brown rice rotini (or other whole grain pasta)
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for drizzling
1/2 cup green onions, white and tender green parts chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup fresh goat cheese (chevre)
1/4 cup fresh basil, julienned
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
salt and pepper

Directions
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan.  Add the onions and cook until beginning to soften.  Add the garlic and cook for one more minute.  Then, add the cheery tomatoes and the bell pepper.  Saute until all the vegetables are cooked.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook per package instructions until al dente (about 8 minutes).  Drain the pasta, reserving at least one cup of the cooking liquid.  Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixture.  Add the goat cheese and 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.  Toss until the goat cheese melts and forms a creamy sauce, adding more cooking liquid as needed.  Check seasoning (salt and pepper).

To serve, put the pasta in a bowl and top with the walnuts and the basil.  Drizzle with a little good olive oil and sprinkle with fresh cracked pepper.  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
organic brown rice pasta, organic heirloom cherry tomatoes, organic bell pepper, green onions, organic garlic, walnuts and goat cheese from Trader Joe's

organic basil from my garden

Wine Pairing
With this meal, we drank a wonderful Roar 2005 Pinot Noir, Pisoni Vineyard.  Roar makes great pinot noir with grapes from some of the best vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands (California Central Coast), and the Pisoni may be their best - spicy and fruity with great structure.  Also, the 2005's are drinking fabulously right now.  We devoured this bottle.

Grilled Salmon With Homemade Teriyaki Sauce And Grilled Scallions

With temperatures heating up all over the country, who wants to heat up their kitchen making dinner?  Enter the grill.  I love using mine, not only because my house lacks air conditioning, but also because it's a delicious and healthy way to cook a variety of foods from fish to bison to vegetables.

Having just come off an eating out bonanza in Japan, I've been dying for some clean, healthy home-cooked meals.  So while suffering from extreme jet lag, I snapped up some lovely wild king salmon steaks at Whole Foods and carted them home along with some scallions, broccoli and russet potatoes. 

Usually I buy based on quality of ingredients with only a loose idea of how I'll prepare the food and then I wait for inspiration to strike.  Well, it did last night, and I decided to grill the fish and glaze it with a homemade teriyaki sauce (a sweet soy sauce).  I also grilled up some scallions and served the fish along with steamed broccoli and baked potatoes topped with lemon juice and pimenton.

This was the perfect welcome home dinner - easy, healthy and delicious.  Even better, I have some leftover salmon that I'll eat for lunch over an arugula, tomato and cucumber salad.  Now if only I could get over this jet lag and get some sleep...

Grilled Salmon With Homemade Teriyaki Sauce And Grilled Scallions
Serves 2 people
Cooking time 30 minutes

Ingredients
2 salmon steaks
bunch of scallions
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper

terikyaki sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup scallions, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, peeled and minced
2 teaspoon sesame seeds
pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions
Preheat the grill.

Meanwhile, to make the teriayki sauce, whisk together all of the ingredients.  Set aside. The teriyaki sauce may be made up to two days in advance and refrigerated. 

Brush the salmon and scallions with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Once the grill is hot, place the salmon steaks and scallions on the grill.  Cook the fish over high heat for a few minutes, then flip and move to a cooler part of the grill to finish cooking.  Brush with the teriyaki sauce to glaze the fish. Remove the fish from heat once it's cooked through and beginning to flake.  Likewise, remove the scallions once they are tender.

To serve, place the salmon steaks on plates and top with a few grilled scallions.  Drizzle with a little teriyaki sauce.  Enjoy!

Source For Ingredients
wild king salmon steaks, organic scallions, raw honey, organic soy sauce, sesame seeds, sesame oil, cayenne pepper, organic lemon, organic olive oil and organic garlic from Whole Foods

Wine Pairing
Pinot noir and salmon are a classic pairing, so with this meal, Kuzak popped a bottle of Anthill Farms 2008 Anderson Valley Pinot Noir.  This is their lower priced offering, but it didn't taste like it!  We loved this bottle from one of our favorite producers.  It was bursting with cherry flavor, spice and structures. It's an exceptionally food friendly wine that complimented our meal without overtaking it.

Back From Japan!

The Diva and Kuzak in Kyoto

Divas, I'm back from Japan!

What an amazing trip!  I'm officially in love with the food, the culture, the beauty and the monkeys (yes, we paid a visit to the Arishiyama monkey park in Kyoto).  The only thing I don't love is the jet lag.  I confess, I woke up at three in the morning last night.  I'll continue posting on my favorite meals I had while in Japan, including everything from the best sushi I've ever tasted to an incredible food market in Kyoto to a new take on kaiseki (stay tuned). 

This week, I also promise to get back to posting more of my scrumptious, healthy recipes.  I'm excited to be back in the kitchen and inspired to cook.  Look for my take on Japanese rice porridge coming up and some noodle action, too.  Other upcoming features?  I'll be participating in the Good Food LA Pie A Day drive and submitting my very own recipe (click here for the blog).

In the meantime, here's a photo gallery of some pics from Japan:

Mikawa in Roppongi Hills (Tokyo) a/k/a The Best Tempura I've Ever Tasted

 Prawn's Head

Who knew tempura could be a fine art?

At Mikawa restaurant in Roppongi Hills (Tokyo), restaurant specializing in tempura (lightly battered and fried proteins and vegetables) it is just that.  I stumbled across the restaurant through Tokyo Writer, a fellow blogger (click here).  The small restaurant boasts no sign, just a beautifully tiled yellow doorway and blue birds flying around it.  This is not the sort of place you could stumble across randomly, but it is worth making it your destination.

The meal we had was the chef's menu consisting of many courses of tempura, all locally obtained seafood and vegetables (about 10,000 yen).  After tasting the first course of shrimp, it was clear that this tempura was by far the best I'd ever tasted in my life.  Unlike the greasy, heavy stuff I've often tasted in the United States, this tempura was gloriously light and fresh tasting.  The secret to the tempura?  Potato starch in the batter (a secret recipe) and the freshest food imaginable (our shrimp were still squirming when they were beheaded and gutted).  By the second course of shrimp's head (my new favorite delicacy), we were in foodie heaven.

This is by far one of the best meals I've had in my life, but almost every meal I've had so far in Japan has been from Ganchan Yakitori to Sushi Dai (posts are forthcoming).  Tonight, we're headed to Giro Giro Hitoshina in Kyoto for a modern take on kaiseki, the multi-course meal that originated some 500 years ago in Kyoto.  So stay tuned for more posts!

Mikawa Photo Gallery (chronological):

Prawn

Prawn's Head

Japanese Whitefish

Squid

Local Japanese Fish (whole)

Flat Head Fish

Sea Eel

Vegetables (asparagus, eggplant, shitake mushroom)

Scallops (over rice)