Giving Ahi Tuna serious respect and lots of love!

SESAME & MALDON SMOKED SEA SALT CRUSTED AHI TUNA

Ahi tuna

2, 8oz ahi tuna steaks

½ teaspoon poppy seeds

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 teaspoon maldon smoked sea salt

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon olive oil

Wasabi mashed potato

450g yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

130ml heavy cream

1 tablespoon butter

half teaspoon smoked maldon salt

½ teaspoon wasabi powder

Tempura pickled ginger

20g pickled ginger, drained and patted dry

40g all-purpose flour

90g cornflour

¼ teaspoon sesame oil

90ml sparkling chilled water

Handful of crushed ice

1 teaspoon maldon sea salt

2 cups peanut or canola oil for shallow frying

Sake and lemongrass cream

2 shallots, roughly chopped

1 stalk of lemongrass, sliced into 1-inch pieces

200ml sake

2 tablespoons fish sauce, “such as tiparos”

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

200ml heavy cream

Wasabi mashed potato

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked, roughly 25 minutes. Strain, add back to the pot and whilst the pot is on a medium heat, add the room temperature butter, wasabi, cream and maldon sea salt.

Tempura pickled ginger

1. In a small bowl mix together the flour, maldon salt, cornflour, salt and sesame oil then whisk in the chilled water and ice.

2. In a small saucepan add the peanut oil and heat to 160°c/325°f.

3. Mix the ginger into the tempura batter then fry for roughly 30 seconds or until they are floating and have a nice golden-brown colour. Drain onto a paper towel and season with maldon salt and ground black pepper.

Sake and lemongrass cream

1. In a medium sized skillet on medium heat, add a touch of butter and olive oil and sauté the shallots until they start to brown. Then add the sake, lemongrass, fish sauce, soy sauce and vinegar.

2. Reduce until the liquid has reduced by half then add the cream, simmer for roughly 10 minutes or until the sauce has slightly thickened. Strain and set aside.

Cooking the tuna

1. On a large plate mix the maldon smoked sea salt, poppy and sesame seeds together and coat the ahi tuna steaks on both sides with a touch of olive oil.

2. In a large skillet on high heat, add the olive oil and sesame oil. When hot, add the tuna steaks and sear for just 20 seconds on both sides, keeping the ahi tuna nice and rare as well as creating a nice crust. Finish in the oven at 175°c/ 350°f for 5 minutes for a medium rare ahi tuna steak.