Seared Albacore Tuna Medallions with Curried Butter Beans

As much as I adore fresh tuna, I'm aware that some species of tuna are endangered from overfishing (i.e. Bluefin tuna is endangered worldwide), so I do my homework before shopping. My iPhone is  equipped with the app created for Monterey Bay's Seafood Watch, and I ask questions at the seafood counter. Most supermarket fishmongers I've encountered haven't been able to tell me where or how their tuna (or other fish) was caught.

Since I'm determined to eat seafood that is caught and brought to market sustainably, I depend on just a few sources for my seafood, such as my local Mom's Organic Market, which labels not only the species, but where and how seafood was caught. The Albacore tuna pictured above and below was caught in the Pacific Ocean, near Washington, by the pole and line method (i.e. one pole, one fish). If you prefer to cook medium rare to rare tuna steaks, ask for "sushi grade" tuna at the market. If you get a blank stare from the person behind the counter, walk away. 

Because my family and I eat tuna so infrequently (it's expensive), I try to cook something special with it. Here, I infused canned lima beans with Indian-inspired spices and used parsley and its blooms to garnish both tuna and beans. Tuna is one of the joys of this pescetarian's diet. I want it to be around for future generations to enjoy.

For further information about buying seafood sustainably and about using Monterey Bay's Seafood Watch app online, click here: Online "Seafood Watch" App or download and print Monterey Bay's Seafood Watch Pocket Guide to take with you to market. 

Recipe: Seared Albacore Tuna Medallions (Serve 4)

Ingredients

3 tablespoons grapeseed oil (reserve two tablespoons for searing tuna)

4 large cloves garlic, chopped

4 8-ounce Albacore Tuna Steaks 

1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 fresh lime* (recipe update 5-30-2012)

4 parsley blossoms (or sprig of parsley) for garnish

Directions

1. Saute garlic in one tablespoon of oil in large saute pan over medium heat for two minutes (or until soft). Set garlic aside.
2. Add remaining oil to pan and heat until very hot (approximately four minutes).
3. Season both sides of tuna steaks with salt and pepper.
4. Add tuna steaks to very hot pan and sear for two to three minutes on each side until both sides of tuna steaks are golden brown. 
5.  Squeeze fresh lime juice over each tuna steak.* (recipe update 5-30-12)
6. Place each tuna steak on two generous tablespoons of the curried butter beans. 
7. Garnish each tuna steak with some of the sauteed garlic and one parsley blossom or sprig of parsley. Serve proudly. 

Curried Butter Beans (Adapted from India, A World of Recipes by Julie McCulloch) (Serves 4)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
3 14-ounce (400 grams) canned butter beans or Lima beans
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped
Vegetable broth (optional)
Salt to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Pour the beans into a colander; drain the liquid from the beans and rinse once. Allow beans to drain for a few minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
3. Add the beans, stir beans to coat thoroughly with oil. 
4. Turn heat to low and add turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, and stir to mix spices with beans.
5. Add sugar and lemon juice; mix well, and cook for five minutes.
6. If beans become dry, add water or vegetable broth--one tablespoon at a time--and stir to rehydrate. 
7. Adjust salt to taste, if desired.
8. Garnish beans with chopped parsley before serving.

Have you ever shopped for sustainable seafood? How easy or how difficult was it to find sustainable seafood?

Grilled-Shrimp Po-Boy with Radicchio Slaw for #SundaySupper

The Po Boy--the traditional Louisiana Sandwich of lightly fried shrimp or other seafood, lettuce and tomato--is restyled here with grilled, sustainable shrimp and a sweet-and-sharp radicchio slaw. It's a flavorful "Sunday Supper" before Memorial Day. The Sunday dinner table is outside near the grill and the mood is festive. Try this healthy, heaven-on-a-hot-dog-bun sandwich for one of your summer cookouts.

Recipe:

Grilled Shrimp Po-Boy with Radicchio Slaw (Serves 4)

Ingredients

4 dozen medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails off

1/2 tablespoon salt 

1 teaspoon white pepper

3 tablespoons smoked paprika

4 hot dog potato rolls (or standard hot-dog buns)

Radicchio Slaw:

1 1/2 pounds radicchio, chopped

1 cup Italian-style salad dressing

2 teaspoons aged balsamic vinegar 

4 tablespoons golden raisins

generous pinch of salt

1/2 pint yellow cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Directions:

1. Rinse shrimp and pat dry. Sprinkle salt, pepper, and smoked paprika on shrimp.
2. Grill shrimp for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes per side (use a grill insert for easier grilling of shrimp)
3. Set shrimp aside.
4. Place chopped radicchio in a large bowl
5. Add salad dressing, balsamic vinegar, and raisins. Mix throughly.
6. Add salt and taste. Adjust salt to taste, if needed.
7. Add cherry tomatoes and mix lightly to preserve the shape of the sliced tomatoes.

Assembling the Po-Boys

1. Place each hot-dog bun face down on the grill until warm and showing grill marks.
2. Spoon 2 tablespoons (approximately) of slaw into each open bun.
3. Add one-dozen shrimp to each Po-Boy and serve.

 Want more recipe ideas for Memorial Day? Click on the link below for a list of bloggers from the #SundaySupper group:

• http://familyfoodie.com/the-perfect-memorial-day-menu-sundaysupper/

Seafood Gumbo Cookalong Part 1 - Alaiyo Kiasi

My first Web "Cookalong" (May 6, 2012) on www.mivesta.com was a great experience. The technology allows a chef or home cook, like me, to prepare a dish while others cook along or watch and chat. Mivesta is a new company that recruits chefs and foodies to share recipes and cooking experiences. It's free to register, add recipes, or host your own Cookalong.

(The Cookalong was one continuous hour but was edited to four 15-minute segments. Click below to see parts two, three, and four.) 
See Part II
See Part III
See Part IV

Pescetarian Bookshelf : A Cookbook Review of Good Fish--Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast

A few months ago, I posted a book review under the title of "Pescetarian Bookshelf." My review of Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food didn't inspire a single reader comment, but that post is the second most popular post (of "all time") on my blog. So I've decided to continue the "Pescetarian Bookshelf" posts, because my blog statistics indicate that some readers are looking for information and resources for following a pescetarian diet.

Good Fish--Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast by Chef Becky Selengut (Sasquatch Books, 2011) deserves a place on every seafood lover's bookshelf and belongs, especially, on the pescetarian's bookshelf. Chef Selengut advocates for seasonal, local, and sustainable seafood and champions seafood from the Pacific Coast. Here's why this cookbook has a center spot among my cookbooks:

• It's an education on sustainable seafood.  The book begins with "Sustainable Seafood Basics," and every section devoted to a type of Pacific seafood explains what makes the seafood a good choice, which season is best for eating it, what questions to ask fishmongers, and how the fish or shellfish should be raised, harvested, and stored. 
• The book references "How-To" Videos. Chef Selengut generously includes links to "How-To Videos" for choosing, cleaning, and preparing your sustainable seafood purchase.
• There are wildly creative recipes. The recipes are intriguing, different, and approachable. For example, the recipe title for "Geoduck Crudo with Shiso Oil" seems, at first glance, to be intimidating. But this recipe includes only six ingredients, so I am game to try the recipe for this long-lived clam. Now I only have to find geoduck here in Maryland, which leads me to my next point about this good book:
• There are suggestions for "Sustainable Substitutes." Since I don't live on the Pacific Coast, I like that Chef Selengut suggested sustainable seafood that is local in other parts of the United States. Although I'm still on the hunt for geoduck, I substituted mussels in the above-mentioned recipe, per the Chef's suggestion, and the dish was a success.
• There are wine-paring suggestions for every recipe. Although I don't regularly drink wine with meals, I appreciate knowing what wines I can select if I'm making one or more of the recipes for guests. 
• There's an appendix with additional resources. Whether or not a published appendix is important to you, Chef Selengut gets big kudos from this reader for including lists of sustainable seafood resources--websites, books and films--that will deepen my knowledge of sustainable seafood. She includes, as well, "A Note on Eating Raw Seafood" and "A brief primer on why mercury and POPs should be avoided." 

Good Fish is one of the best cookbooks I've seen, at this point, for obtaining and cooking sustainable seafood. I would love to hear from you if you have this book.

A Gumbo Cook-Along Invitation

Have you ever pretended, while cooking, that you have your own cooking show? Perhaps you didn't actually talk out loud, narrating your every move like I have, but admit it--culinary stardom has crossed your mind, hasn't it? This is the thing: I recently became aware of Mivesta, a company that uses technology to connect cooks and foodies together for an in-the-moment, live event. This is not just a webinar, it's multiple screens to see and hear all participants, a chat screen to see thoughts and questions, and a recipe. Everyone is cooking along, chatting, and viewing.

I connected with Mivesta through Twitter's Foodiechats group, and soon I was asked to consider hosting an online cooking event. So, this Sunday, May 6, 2012 I will be talking while cooking Shrimp & Snow Crab Gumbo, but this time folks will be looking, listening, and interacting. Won't you join me at 3 p.m. to either cook along (the recipe is posted here) or just watch? You might want to host your own CookAlong too! Click here to see me talking about the event and to RSVP.