Round One:
As a ‘food
blogger’ one must never underestimate the power of natural light and a sober photographer. I first made this Timorese Tuna (last April) for a few girlfriends after an
afternoon of shopping for hen party 'things'. After drinking a few tins of
cheap beer out of plastic champagne glasses through penis straws, we sat down at 12am to a pile of dishevelled tuna and posh rice strewn with spring onions and yet more penis straws. The
result - unusable, blurry photographs, penis censorship and a hangover.
The perfect
excuse for round two.
Round Two:
A much less
exciting round. Feeling the need to make up for my previous food styling disaster, I arranged the tuna carefully on a platter and patted myself on the back
before demolishing it. The result - a delicious tuna dinner.
Timorese Grilled Tuna with Wild Garlic Pesto
For the Garlic and Walnut Pesto
Although not
authentic (here we go), I had just made a batch of wild garlic pesto and
at the time, just couldn’t resist putting it on EVERYTHING. The original recipe requires covering the tuna with garlic butter already, but in my opinion, you just can’t
have too much garlic. It’s also an excuse to share the recipe and make sure I myself don't forget it!
We found the an
amazing spot to forage for wild garlic in St. Anne’s Park in Dublin. It grows abundantly there under a couple of big trees. You'll know you're getting close because you can smell it a mile away, just follow your nose. I recommend making a
big batch and giving it to your friends and family, but make sure you keep enough
for yourself. It’s a sad day when you realise you'll have to wait ten months for
the next season. Not to mention, it's practically free.
3 big handfuls of wild garlic leaves, washed with stems removed.
About 300ml of extra
virgin olive oil
100g walnuts
100g good quality
strong cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Bung everything
into a blender until it's smooth. Transfer into a sterilised jar and keep in
the fridge.*
*I made about 6
batches of the above recipe in half an hour and it lasted for about two months in the fridge
before it was all eaten. It didn’t show any signs of spoiling so next year I’ll
be making double (at least).
For the Timorese Tuna
1 fresh tuna steak, about an inch and a half thick
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons of softened butter
Coarse sea salt
1 spring onion, sliced
rice to serve.
Combine the garlic and butter in a bowl. Smear the garlic butter on your tuna steak and set aside. Heat up a heavy pan until its smoking hot and sear the steak for a minute on each side. Cut the tuna into slices and season generously with coarse sea salt. Top with the sliced spring onion and serve with rice and garlic pesto.
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