Medallions of Ahi Tuna
Seared tuna medallions are topped with seared foie gras and served with rosti potato wedges and spinach. Marinated portobello mushrooms and a rich red wine sauce add flavor depth. The dish is from Morrone’s repertoire at Aqua, a San Francisco restaurant which featured fish dishes.
Ingredients
- Portobello Mushroom Dice
- Portobello Mushrooms - 2 large, stemmed (reserve stems for sauce)
- Garlic Cloves - 2, chopped
- Shallots - 3, chopped
- Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
- White Wine Vinegar - 3 tablespoons
- Thyme - 1 teaspoon
- Red Wine Sauce
- Reserved mushroom stems (above) - 4 tablespoons, chopped
- Shallots - 4, sliced
- Cabernet Sauvignon - 1 cup
- Red Wine Vinegar - 1/2 cup
- Veal demi-glace (see Basics) - 2 cups
- Thyme - 1 sprig
- Potato Cakes
- Waxy Potatoes (not baking potatoes) - 8 - 10, large
- Shallots - 8
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Clarified Butter (see Basics) - 1/4 cup
- Spinach
- Olive Oil - 2 tablespoons
- Shallots - 2, minced
- Spinach - 1 , blanched
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Medallions of sushi-quality tuna - eight, 3-ounce
- Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Foie gras - 1-1/2 ounces, cleaned, cut into four pieces and scored
Instructions
To make the mushrooms: Cut the mushroom caps into 1/2-inch slices. Mix the remaining ingredients together in a small non-reactive bowl and toss the mushrooms in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at least 2 hours.
To make the sauce: Put the mushrooms and shallots in a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat and cover. Cook 2 - 3 minutes, until softened. Add the wine and vinegar and simmer until reduced by one third in volume. Add the demi-glace and thyme and simmer again until reduced by one half. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve and keep warm.
To make the potato cakes: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Grate the potatoes and shallots. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible and season with salt and pepper. Fluff with a fork to break up any clumps. Heat the butter in a 6-inch ovenproof skillet over high heat and mound the potatoes into the skillet. Press and shape the potatoes into a compact round in the skillet. Brown on both sides, place in the oven, and bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until cooked in the center.
To prepare the spinach: In a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil and shallots until the shallots are softened, about 2 minutes. Add the spinach, season with salt and pepper, and toss. Reduce heat to low and cover; let cook for 2 minutes. Turn out onto a towel and roll up the towel to blot up excess moisture.
To prepare the tuna: Brush the tuna with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Heat a grill or broiler to very hot. Sear the tuna for 2 minutes on each side, then remove from heat. Season the foie gras pieces with salt and pepper. In a skillet or saute pan over high heat, heat the remaining olive oil and sear the foie gras slices for 30 seconds on one side, turn over, and remove the pan from heat.
To serve: Drain the mushrooms and grill or pan-broil for 5 minutes, turning frequently to brown all sides. Cut the potato cake into 8 wedges and put two wedges on each serving plate. Cover the rest of the plate with hot spinach. Place two pieces of grilled tuna on the spinach on each plate, and place foie gras on the tuna. Sprinkle mushrooms over the plates. Stir the fat from the foie gras pan into the wine sauce and spoon the sauce over the dish.
