Tuna tataki | wasabi avocado | goats cheese cream | ginger hay | ponzu jelly
I often get asked what is my favourite dish and this one is it. This little creation got my good self onto Masterchef Australia season 8 and it represents so much of who I am as a cook. The plating, techniques and flavours that I love is well represented in this dish. I hope you enjoy making it as much as I do.
Serves 4
Ingredients
Yuzu Granita:
60ml yuzu juice
2 tsp sugar
Ponzu Jelly:
25ml ponzu kombu sauce
¼ tsp yuzu juice
0.5g agar powder
Avocado Wasabi:
½ an avocado, mashed
1 tbsp wasabi
juice of ½ a lemon
Goats Cheese Crème:
40g goats cheese
40g crème fraiche
1 tsp lemon zest
salt, to taste
Parsley Oil:
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
juice of ½ a lemon
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt, to taste
Tuna Marinade:
4 anchovy fillets
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp baby capers
salt, to taste
Caper Flowers:
canola oil, for frying
18 capers
Crispy Ginger hay:
canola oil, for frying
5cm piece ginger, peeled and
finely julienned
Tuna Tataki:
500g piece sashimi grade tuna loin
Garnish:
Micro sorrel
Micro radish
Method
To make the Yuzu Granita, combine 100ml water and 60 ml yuzu juice along
with sugar in a small saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has
dissolved. Remove from heat and pour into a small shallow tray. Place into the
freezer until set. Once set, use a fork to scrape surface of granita into small
flakes, repeat this process every 15 minutes until required for plating.
To make the Ponzu Jelly, combine ponzu kombu sauce, yuzu juice and 50ml
of water into a small saucepan over low heat and bring to a simmer. Remove
from heat, add agar and whisk in until well combined. Pour into a 7x3cm tray
and into the fridge until set. Remove from fridge and cut jelly into 6mm x 6mm
cubes and set aside on a lined tray in the fridge.
To make the Avocado Wasabi, place avocado, wasabi and lemon juice in a
bowl and mix well until smooth. Pass through a fine sieve and season to taste.
Transfer to a small piping bag and set aside.
To make the Goats Cheese Crème, mix all ingredients in a bowl until well
combined, season to taste. Transfer to a piping bag and set aside in fridge.
To make the Parsley Oil, prepare a bowl of iced water and set aside. Bring a
small saucepan of water to the boil then remove from heat. Holding the stem
of the parsley, dip leaves into the boiling water for 20 seconds then plunge
straight into ice bath. Pick leaves and place into a paper towel, discard stalks.
Squeeze leaves in paper towel to remove excess moisture and place into a
blender with a lemon juice, oil and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth.
Prepare a fine sieve lined with muslin cloth and sit over a bowl. Transfer
blended parsley oil into sieve and set aside in fridge to drip through.
To make the Tuna Marinade, place all ingredients into a mortar and pestle and
grind until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
To prepare the Caper Flowers, pat capers dry and roll in a tea towel gently to
open capers. Heat oil in a small saucepan to 200C. Add capers and fry until
crisp, about 1 minute. Remove from oil and set aside on paper towel. Reserve
oil on heat for the ginger.
To make the Crispy Ginger hay, add ginger pieces to oil and fry off until crisp.
Remove from oil and set aside on paper towel.
To make the Tuna Tataki, cut tuna steaks into 2 x 2cm wide rectangular strips
and add to bowl of marinade. Mix through gently to coat and allow to sit for 5
minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a medium frypan over medium heat until hot.
Place marinated tuna into pan and sear for 10 seconds on each side then
remove from pan and set aside to rest.
To serve, slice tuna into 2cm thick pieces and arrange around the plate. Pipe
dots of cream and wasabi around the plate. Add pieces of the ponzu jelly,
caper flowers and parsley oil and micro herbs. Finish with a few spoonfuls of
granita.
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Happy cooking! Please post a photo of your dish on instagram and
tag with #jimmywongeats