Nigella's Tuscan tuna tartare recipe

I've been a big Nigella Lawson fan for about a decade now, so, naturally, I pre-ordered her new book Nigellissima on Amazon and immediately began trying out recipes when it came. One of the first recipes I tried was this Tuscan tuna tartare. 

Ryan is a big fan of raw tuna, which is what initially prompted me to make the tuna tartare. But, when I told him about it, he was skeptical. Short of dipping it in a little soy sauce, how could you improve something as perfect as fresh, sashimi-grade tuna? 

I'm happy to report that, once I'd chopped up all that perfect tuna (as he looked on, cringing), mixed it with a few subtle and not overpowering garnishes, and served it up on arugula with homemade pita chips, he was 100% on board. 

I don't think tartare will be replacing sashimi in his book anytime soon, but it made for a nice change, and he raved about how the capers set off the tuna flavor perfectly without distracting from it. 

Ingredients:

2 cups arugula

12 ounces raw sashimi-grade tuna

1 lemon

1 scallion

2 tablespoons drained capers

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

01. Using a sharp knife, chop tuna into small chunks. Do not use a food processor!

02. Zest lemon over the tuna. Add sliced scallions, capers, salt, and pepper.

03. Mix gently with your hands. 

04. Serve on a bed of arugula. Drizzle olive oil over tuna and arugula. Squeeze lemon over just the arugula, but serve with a lemon so that people can squeeze it onto the tuna at the table. The reason for waiting, is that the lemon can turn the tuna white.

Nigella likes to serve this with toasted bread or homemade french fries. As a last-minute inspiration, I fried up some wedges of flatbread in olive oil, and found that it made a perfect accompaniment. 

Join me on: facebook // twitter // bloglovin // pinterest // instagram

Holiday recipe: latkes with goat's cheese, smoked salmon, and fresh dill

This is my take on a Nigella Lawson recipe (which you can find here). It was my idea to add the goat's cheese. Typically I also change the potato to sweet potato, which plays very nicely with the goat's cheese and smoked salmon, making the whole thing more complex in flavor. But, I couldn't get sweet potato mix this time, so I made them more traditionally.

That's right, I said mix. Nigella's brilliant idea is to make the whole ordeal simpler and faster by using potato flakes. You know, that stuff that people make awful mashed potatoes out of? I was skeptical at first too, but it actually makes for a great textured pancake.

Enter your email address:

Holiday recipe: cranberry sauce

The first holiday recipe I have to share with you is for my cranberry sauce. I make this every Thanksgiving, but it would work equally well for Christmas. It goes great with turkey, goose, whatever you're having. And the next day, it also tastes great spread over biscuits for breakfast on a left-over-turkey sandwich for lunch.

My cranberry sauce is my own variation of a Nigella Lawson recipe. But, when I first tried hers years ago, I didn't want to "give it a thrashing" with a fork to keep it from setting. In fact, I wanted to mold it for that lovely, retro, kitschy look. Back then, I also couldn't find the cherry brandy that she suggested I use, so I used a raspberry liquor. In the years since, I've experimented with many kinds of alcohol. I think I prefer triple sec because the orange flavor really goes well with the cranberries, adding an extra fragrance that's just lovely.

So, here's how you do it. It's really quite simple.

Ingredients:

2 12-ounce bags of fresh cranberries

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup triple sec

1/3 cup water

Step 1. Put all ingredients into a sauce pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring often enough to keep from burning until cranberries pop and sauce reduces slightly. It will still look more liquidy than you expect, but don't worry because it will thicken a lot more when it sets.

Step 2. Pour the sauce into a mold. You can use a Jell-O mold, a bunt pan, or any shaped cake pan. I got mine at the thrift store. You will find lots of great, retro cookware there.

Step 3. Refrigerate until set. I usually make it at least the night before, because it's easier, but it doesn't take more than an hour or so to set.

Step 4. Unmold. I do this by loosening the edges all the way around with a rounded butter knife before inverting it on a plate or serving platter.

Enter your email address: