Tuna Tartare at Home

The Heath Ledgerish, sock-hat clad fishmonger, who looked like he just stepped off a northwest schooner, slowly sliced off three-quarters of a pound of fresh tuna, and laid it gently on the scale. Then he said, “Here you go, Ma’am,” (Ma’am!) and off I skulked to whip up Ina Garten’s tuna tartare. Note to readers: Mondays are when Whole Foods gets fish deliveries. I can’t attest to when Heath Ledger works.

Seriously, this recipe is stellar, especially with our current, dreamy weather. I love Ina Garten, and her Barefoot Contessa Family Style (Clarkson Potter, 2002) is an easy-to-use cookbook whose recipes yield great results. Be forewarned, the version I’ve linked you to above has been quintupled, so divide by five if you want the outcome to produce 6-8 appetizer-sized portions. Along with the chunks of rosy, extra-fresh tuna, this tartare is a luscious blend of lime, soy sauce, scallions, wasabi powder, fresh avocado, jalapeno, olive oil and sesame seeds. Serve cool with endive or rice crackers.

The same cookbook features winning spaghetti and meatballs, which I also made this week. Monjuni’s owner Jimmy Rosso once told me in an interview that there was a “big-time trick” to making meatballs, but he wouldn’t reveal what said trick was. I’m wondering if it wasn’t the addition of warm water, included by the Contessa with the classic roundup of ground veal, pork and beef, parmesan, breadcrumbs, nutmeg, parsley, egg, etc. Anyway, they were luscious and tender, not all dense and hockey-puckish like many a well-intentioned meatball.

Also this week, I had a bizarre, seasonally-displaced craving for roast chicken and cornbread dressing, Go figure. Spring or not, I just had to have my family’s plain ol’, and I do mean plain, cornbread dressing. The stripped-down version consists of nothing more than cornbread, chicken stock, sautéed onions and celery, and lots of salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and sage. There’s just something about those soft, sagey, slightly crusty corner pieces, and if you ask me, it’s always the right time of year for roast chicken.

Empty your food-lover’s mind here.