This past weekend I had the pleasure of popping up at Farm to People’s Brooklyn kitchen, which was my first pop-up event, and, aside from a brief fry-dunking stint in college, my first time cooking professionally. It was a fantastic time, and I have many people to thank: everybody who came out, the excellent, exceedingly hospitable Farm to People team, and all you subscribers putting up with this newsletter’s tardiness as I pounded out cutlets and made giant vats of beans. It was so great to meet so many of you in person, and there will certainly be more pop-ups in the near future.
I figured, then, that I’d make this week’s recipe one of the most popular dishes we did at Farm to People: a tuna crudo (honestly, more of a tartare) with capers, fried breadcrumbs, fish sauce, and aioli. This one was flying out of the kitchen on Friday night; we couldn’t make them fast enough. It’s kind of the crudo equivalent of a sports car: ruby red and diminutive, but with a lot of horsepower. The trick here is being quite conservative with the aioli and fish sauce, allowing the slight salt-and-sugar cure on the yellowfin to shine through.
Tuna Crudo with Fish Sauce, Fried Breadcrumbs, and Aioli
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
14 oz yellowfin tuna, cubed
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and dried
Sourdough bread torn into coarse breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons minced shallots
3 strips of lemon peel, finely minced
Red Boat fish sauce
2 egg yolks
2-3 grated garlic cloves
1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Extra virgin olive oil
Canola or grapeseed oil
Red wine vinegar
White sugar
Kosher salt
Instructions
Make the aioli: in a processor, combine the yolks, garlic, mustard, and a pinch of salt. Pulse. Keep the processor running and slowly stream in olive oil, then canola/grapeseed oil. I like to do half olive oil, half vegetable oil. Add the oil slowly with processor running until the aioli is thick. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
Cure the tuna: add a few pinches of salt and sugar to the tuna. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Make the fried breadcrumbs: add a generous amount of olive oil to a pan. Heat to at least 350 degrees F; add the breadcrumbs and fry until golden brown. Remove and salt immediately.
Make the pickled shallots: submerge the minced shallots in a bit of water, 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, salt, and sugar. Let them pickle for at least a few hours.
When ready to serve, combine the tuna, capers, shallots, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, a few small dashes of fish sauce, olive oil, and a small pinch of salt. Mix well.
Add a very small dollop (1 teaspoon) of aioli to the center of the plate. Spread it around into a thin, circular layer.
Add the crudo in an even circular layer on top of the aioli.