So I made this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe (Tuna confit with black olive tapenade and tomato salsa, p 305) but I didn’t totally follow the recipe – I didn’t make the tapenade or the salsa and I served this with a version of ratatouille and some pan-fried potatoes because that sounded good. I am, after all, really and truly “en vacances” this week and next and it’s not always conducive to fitting in “must cook” dishes for the blog – fortunately this week I have had tuna-lovers Cathy and Neil who were happy to eat this dish….
The recipe basically asks you to marinade the tuna steak in olive oil and some other bits and pieces for 1-2 days, then to slowly bake the fish in the oven at a very low temperature. It was suggested that the tuna might be a little pink in the centre once it’s cooked, but I can’t see how when you’re basically covering it with oil and lemon juice for up to 2 days – mine was definitely firm and white when it came out of the fridge and was very definitely NOT pink once it was cooked. From a non tuna-eater’s point of view I thought it seemed a little over-cooked (too firm) but my taste testers said it was fairly tender. They didn’t taste the (very subtle) marinade flavours very strongly on the day I made this but the following day, the leftovers tasted slightly more lemon-y. Verdict? “Nice but not worth a 2-day prep.” I tend to agree – with a tuna steak, I think I’d prefer to pan cook it than bake in the oven.
Oh and in other “French” news…
Those would be the keys to the house we bought yesterday.
In France.
More on that soon – stay tuned!
Get the recipe for Dorie’s tuna confit with black olive tapenade and tomato salsa here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs, we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Go on, treat yourself then join us here!
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Many of you will know I’m in France for most of the summer. While I will be slowly blogging about things I do here, the best way to keep up with me will be by following my photos which you can do on my Summer 2014 set on Flickr or Instagram where I am @eatlivtravwrite (if you don’t have the app on your phone you can still check out the photos online.
Yes, a nice dish…but the pan-fried cod I cooked next day was nicer. 🙂
And as for the house…whoah, indeed Mardi and I are now French homeowners!
No one will be surprised to hear the house has a cave…. 🙂
Congratulations on your new home!!! Now you can get your French kitchen stocked to your liking 🙂 You’re a good sport making these dishes you have no interest in eating!!!
I can’t wait to hear more about your house! It’s definitely one of my dream, but I get overwhelmed by all the tiny bureaucratic details… and the second mortgage!!
I love this! I must admit tuna is the only fish I actually like. Yumm!!!!
Forget the fish, the new home sounds wonderful. Congratulations and good luck. Can’t wait
,to hear more about it. Only kidding, you tuna looks fabulous, and we loved this recipe.
And to Mr Neil, OMG, your own cave…
I know you are not a fish lover, but this was indeed an odd fish recipe. I never heard of marinating fish for more than a few hours it would make the texture strange. Glad it is out of the way for you and enjoy your new home.
Wow! That’s exciting news! Can’t wait to hear more! I only marinated my tuna for 6 hours and it was quite pink when it came out of the oven. The leftovers were not pink, so I guess the window for rosiness is small. Delicious both ways though. You are quite the sport. I know how much you enjoy fish, but as you said, one less fish dish to make! Bon weekend.
OMG – you own a house in France! Congrats! I didn’t get a rosy centre either, but it tasted fab. I love the look of your veges etc.
Interesting experiment and viewing your observations. Your version looks quite nice, good pic. Thanks for sharing.
I cannot think about tuna right now. A home in France. Be still my heart. I cannot imagine how excited you both are. I’m excited for you and I only know you both virtually. I cannot think of anyone who would enjoy a place in France more than you, Mardi. Congratulations to you both. About the tuna. Alot of work. Mine wasn’t pink either. I didn’t think my pictures were post-worthy so I didn’t even write a French Fridays today. I did enjoy darn good fish tacos tonight.
While almost none of our results look like the picture in the book…. most of us did enjoy this week’s fish recipe. And great of you to make it even though it was not your fav. Congratulations to your new abode complete with its own cave!!! Amazing!
Wow, exciting news. And how appropriate to celebrate with a glass of rose. Congrats.
Mardi’s fish countdown 🙂
A house. A house. A house! Wow, that is amazing news. Congratulations to both you and Mr. Neil. I have a million and one questions, so I hope you share more soon! (And we want to see pictures of what I am assuming is a wine cave…I expect that to be one of the first things filled up in the new place)
Oh wow. Even those keys look cool, and French, and old fashioned and charming. How very, very exciting. I can not wait to hear more about the new digs. Big congrats to you and Mr. Neil !! Thumbs up for making the tuna. It was enjoyed in this house big time. Things that involve expensive ingredients, sadly, usually are 🙂
Congratulations on the new house. I am glad that I am not the only one who is not a tuna lover.
Fish aside…….can’t wait for the post about Mr N n Ms Mz vineyard n winery 🙂