This month’s recipe comes from Holland America Line.
Ingredients
Tomato confit: 1kg tomatoes, quartered
4 large fresh thyme sprigs
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled
¼ cup olive oil
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Horseradish roesti: 500g potatoes, grated
¼ cup coarsely grated fresh horseradish
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
Salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Cajun tuna: 4 tuna steaks, about 1 inch thick
¼ cup oil
2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
Basil oil, for garnish (recipe below)
Créme fraîche, for garnish
Basil oil: ½ cup densely packed basil leaves
1 cup neutral oil, such as grape seed or canola
Preparation
Tomatoes: Preheat oven to 150°C. Arrange
tomatoes on roasting tray. Scatter thyme sprigs
& garlic cloves on top. Sprinkle olive oil & sea salt.
Bake for 45 mins, then turn: bake until tomatoes
shrink slightly but are still plump & moist, about
1 hour. Cool. Peel off skins. Cover & refrigerate.
Bring to room temp before using.
Horseradish roesti: Squeeze out liquid out of
potatoes with tea towel. In large mixing bowl,
combine potatoes with horseradish & oil; season
with salt & pepper. Preheat oven to 100°C. Put
baking sheet in oven & place a rack on it. In
frypan, heat 2 tbls butter. Spread potato mixture
in the pan. Brown until golden & crusty on the
bottom, approx 5-7 mins. Invert roesti onto pan lid
& remove from heat. Add remaining 2 tbls butter
to preheated pan. Slide roesti into pan raw side
down & brown for 5-7 min. With 7cm round cutter,
cut out 4 rounds from the roesti on cutting board
and keep warm on rack in oven.
Cajun tuna: Rub tuna steak with 1 ½ tsp oil &
Cajun. In a cast-iron skillet, heat remaining 2tbls
oil until it begins to smoke. Sear tuna on each side
for only 1 min; the tuna is served rare. Cut each
steak into 2 triangles. Stand triangles on each
plate with a roesti & spoonful of tomato confit.
Decorate plate with basil oil & créme fraîche.
Basil oil: Bring salted water to a boil. Prepare
bowl of ice water. Drop basil leaves into boiling
water; cook just until tender but still green, 2 to
3 mins. Drain; move leaves to ice water. When
cool, squeeze out water from basil & place in
food processor with a bit of the oil. With machine
running, add remaining oil slowly, Transfer to a
container, cover, and chill.
