a Top Chef recipe: Hung's tuna tartare

Is that a bunch of ingredients thrown on a plate? Is that my mise en place? No, it's Hung's tuna tartare from the "Restaurant Wars" episodes of Top Chef--just less artistic, less composed, and less refined.

I did try (see below). I like pretty food, even winsome food, and have fantasized plenty of shaping rice balls into happy teddy bears and Hello Kitty. But here I felt like I was copying in the most amateurish and slavish fashion, as shown on TV. My hand shook as a schmear of vinaigrette turned into a puddle and toast points got cold as I struggled to form some sort of architectural structure. I think if you don't have the steady hands and particular finesse of an experienced chef, home cooking is best served by a rakish haphazardness that should probably bring to mind Mario Batali more than Daniel Boulud, even if the latter was perhaps the most tactful and gentle-spoken guest judge ever to grace the show.

Now, onto the creative part of this endeavor: deciphering Bravo's recipe. Normally I wouldn't dare attempt one of their recipes. Their site is a headache to navigate and even if you can find the dish you're searching for, you'll run into a general, stupefying lack of detail with some inconsistencies mixed in for added befuddlement. Nearly half the comments on any given recipe amount to "Are you kidding me?" The other half consists of wishful commentary remarking that the food sure did look good on TV, and then there is the wee percentage who roll their eyes and point out that they have in fact made the very dish in question and if you knew what you were doing, you could make it too without all the hand-holding specifics, retards.

But Hung's tuna tartare take on a salad Nicoise was looked upon with such favor by the judges that my curiosity was piqued, especially because I didn't think I knew what an Egg Vinaigrette was. See, when it's capitalized like that, it throws you off.

To my surprise, there was a short and tidy list of common enough ingredients. I knew the measurements were suspect, but the recipe seemed so simple, I figured I could work with it. It actually seemed to be a 30-minute meal, wasn't sized for several dozen people, and while guest judge Geoffrey Zakarian deemed tuna tartare a cliche in the second and conclusive episode, he did cite it in a later interview as his favorite dish of the night.

That comment perhaps raised my expectations too high because I forgot that a lot of the other food on the show was problematic or just plain bad. This was indeed "delicate" and as Daniel Boulud said, "a real bistro dish." If you were served it for lunch, you'd be delighted with it. The flavor of the egg vinaigrette is bright and clean against the sweet mellowness of the tuna, and for all the refinement of presentation (Hung's, not mine), the flavors are familiar and almost even homey (toast and eggs anyone?). It's a salad Nicoise deconstructed, after all, and it's done very well.

I suspect a lot of the appeal resided in the delight in contrast between its precious bejeweled look (did Padma say it was so pretty she didn't want to eat it?) and the comfort of accessible flavors. Mine was not so refined (or as properly and beautifully seasoned, I am sure), so I was not so surprised. Would I make it again? I prefer my tuna tartares with Asian flavors, but I would keep the egg vinaigrette in my repertoire and use that and all the other components (save the $18.99 per pound tuna) in an actual, hearty salad Nicoise.

Here is the ingredient list, as posted on Bravo's site. The parentheticals are my notes.

Serves four as an appetizer and two as a main course.

Adapted from bravotv.com.

Tuna Tartare with Nicoise Olives

• 8 g tuna, diced  (they mean 8 ounces or half a pound of sushi-grade tuna--only crack cocaine and saffron come in grams)
• 1 T chives, chopped
• 1 T salt (maybe they mean kosher salt; I used fine sea salt and half a tablespoon was more than enough)
• 1 t pepper (used a sprinkle)
• 1 t paprika (start with half a teaspoon and season to taste)
• 1 cup nicoise olives (3/4 cup is plenty)
• 8 white asparagus (I used haricot vert (French green beans))
• (You also need something to make a cracker or toast points. I used a slice of good white bread.)

Egg Vinaigrette

• 2 boiled eggs, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 T sherry vinaigrette
• 1 t sugar
• 1 t salt (again, maybe they mean kosher; start with 1/4 teaspoon and season to taste)

(This makes a lot of vinaigrette. If you don't want a lot leftover, half everything with the exception of the 2 boiled eggs which are used as garnish. Half of 1/4 cup is 2 tablespoons.) 

This dish has a lot of small components to remember, but nothing took a long time. I started boiling the eggs first, and did indeed finish in 30 minutes or so. Mix the tuna with chives and season. Place in fridge. ---My sushi-grade tuna acquired from Citarella tasted a little fishy at first, but after seasoning and a few minutes in the fridge, it tasted fine.

Sauté the white asparagus or haricot vert briefly so it's cooked but retains a crunch. Green beans, even French ones, won't be as dressy as white asparagus but they're almost always found in Nicoise salads, and I liked them very much here. Set aside.

Sauté the olives. I think this is primarily so they're easy to pit. I wanted them to retain a texture closer to raw than cooked, so pitting them was the fussiest part of this recipe for me. After pitting, chop finely and set aside.   

Make the vinaigrette by mixing the mayonnaise and the sherry vinegar, and season. Mine was runnier than the one pictured, but it tasted good. Add less vinegar if you want a thicker consistency. Chop the eggs fine to garnish over the vinaigrette.

Toast bread, cut crusts off, and slice into 1-inch rows.

Plate everything as a separate component, so it looks like a deconstructed salad Nicoise. Marvel that you prepared raw fish and lived to tell the tale. Enjoy!

Comments

[nycdreamer]

Never thought to put raw tuna with olives before, but tastes yummy. Wonder what Marcel might have done with them...

[Julie]

Hmm...I suppose the easy answer to that would have to be a foam Nicoise. But I like to think he'd be more nuanced than that.

[nycdreamer]

Or olive gelee & tuna juice mixed with xantham gum for visual effect?

[agus]

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