June 11th, 2008

So yesterday, around 12:30pm, we get a call in from Capt. John.
“We got some Tuna! Two yellowfin, a black fin and a King mackeral!”
Now, I haven’t really had the chance to work with fresh tuna in a while (wahoo is an excellent substitute in times of tuna off season) so my brain starts humming.


Yellowfin Sashimi on salt blocks, yellowfin citrus ceviche, Maybe some tuna blossoms, Do I cook any of it now? Scratch cooking it. These babies have been out of the water 3 hrs! Within 4 hrs of Mr. Clarke and Ms. Warmus hauling these beasts in the boat, I had a four course tasting together showcasing the beauty of their catch. The entire dining room got to see the smaller of the two tunas as I brought one ( The smaller one mind you. I had gone to the gym that morning and my arms were burning a bit already) out at lunch time for everyone to see what was on the dinner menu.


So like I said scratch cooking it.


The ceviche came out wonderful; I like to use lots of citrus with tuna. Some red onion sliced paper thin, a little bit of pineapple, and some micro cilantro, that’s all else I need.


Chilled it all down and sliced paper thin, it was probably the star dish of the evening. Although the sashimi was definitely some good competition. And last but certainly not least, The humble Berkshire pork belly. Certainly not the star of the evening, But still gets the Oscar for best supporting cast. Cured, Roasted , braised, vaccum sealed and then cooked for 6 hrs, I served it with a spring pea (amazing stuff I fly in from the Chef’s Garden) and coconut puree,
And a roasted “Mr Freye’s* “ Rhubarb sauce. Melissa topped it off with some coconut angel food cakes and everyone left last night not too full and very happy.


•Mr. Freye’s rhubarb is an heirloom variety that has been passed down multiple gererations of Mr. Freye’s family, and was ever so generously donated to The Chef’s Garden for further safekeeping and eating.

Filed under: Culinary |