Kombucha, Grenadine, Ginger and Tuna
Skordalia with tuna © Oliver Schwarzwald
Skordalia with tuna © Oliver Schwarzwald
Tuna with mashed potatoes
Optionally as a starter or as a main course.
This dish is relatively simple and easy to prepare. But because of its simplicity, tuna with mashed potatoes always goes down well. You can also call it tuna Grenoble style, sounds respectable, because capers, lemon and parsley are a well-known garnish. There is the version as a main course, which I have cooked many times. The important thing here is that the tuna steak is approx.160g -200g about 3cm thick. So that it is still raw on the inside after a short searing.
Skordalia, a Greek dish, is a way of transforming the wonderful components of the main course into a small starter. Basically also a mashed potato, where the butter is replaced by olive oil. The mixture is mixed with the capers and parsley from the garnish. In the original, lemon juice is added, but we get the acidity from the lemon fillets that are briefly browned in the pan. A little garlic also goes into a skordalia. I use very little so as not to steal the show from the tuna. The puree, like the sliced tuna, is served as lukewarm as possible.
Drink:
200ml Kombucha e.g. Rho Kombucha Original
10 cl ginger syrup e.g. Phenomenal Drinks
10 cl grenadine syrup
Lemon
Serve on ice garnished with a slice of lemon.
Skordalia:
The Skordalia can be kept covered in the fridge for 5-6 days. The garlic flavour becomes milder and milder.
1kg floury potatoes
Salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, peeled
100g capers
approx. 200 ml olive oil, according to taste
Halve or quarter the peeled potatoes, put them in a large pot with cold water, salt generously and boil until soft. Drain the water and leave to steam for about 5 minutes with the lid off. Mash the potatoes in the pot.
Meanwhile, crush the garlic clove in a mortar with a little salt to make a puree. Add the garlic puree, capers and olive oil and mix everything well with a wooden spoon. Season the puree well with salt and pepper, but do not skimp on the salt as it really brings out the flavour. Stir in 3 tablespoons of hot water. Heat the oil in a pan and salt and pepper the fillets on both sides and fry until the meat is golden brown. This is quite quick. The tuna must still be raw on the inside. Take out the tuna and add some butter into the Hot Pan and frei the lemon filets. Cut the tuna into slices and serve on the puree.
The tuna:
1 kg fresh tuna fillet in one piece or approx. 160 -200 g per person.
2 lemons
2 tablespoons capers
oil for frying
a bunch of chopped parsley
pepper and salt
Divide the piece of meat into equal-sized steaks (if the steaks are prepared by the fishmonger, they should be about 3 cm thick). Cut off any dark, bloody areas, cover the steaks and set aside.
Remove the peel and the white layer from the lemons as a whole until only the flesh is left. Now remove the fillets from the individual chambers with a sharp knife. There should be no skin left on the flesh. Place the lemon fillets in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat the oil in a pan and salt and pepper the fillets on both sides and fry until the flesh is golden brown. This is quite quick. The tuna must still be raw on the inside. You can easily tell by looking at the side, because the cooked meat turns light grey and in the middle it should still be pink and only lukewarm. Remove the steaks from the pan, add the lemon fillets, capers and parsley to the drippings and toss.
For the skordalia, cut the fillet into strips. For the main course, place the whole fillet on the mashed potatoes.
Divide the mashed potatoes between the plates, place a steak on each and spread the lemon fillets and capers with the oil over the meat.
The mashed potatoes:
1 kg floury potatoes
500 g butter
Salt
Halve or quarter the peeled potatoes, put them in a large pot of cold water, salt generously and boil until soft. Drain the water and leave to steam for about 5 minutes with the lid off. Mash the potatoes in the pot. Now break the butter into large pieces and fold into the mashed potatoes. If you stir too much, the mash will be sticky and not as smooth as we want it. Once all the butter has melted and been stirred in, carefully salt the mashed potatoes. Put the lid on the pot and set aside, but not for too long, otherwise the butter will separate from the potato mixture again.