Carpaccio of Yellowfin Tuna Niçoise

Let me say from the outset that I did not enjoy making this dish. Why? Because it showed me that I am not perfect (Mom, I can hear you falling off your chair laughing; quit it.). And, really, who needs to have that message reinforced when you've already had a pretty crappy week?

Here are some things I suck at:

1) I suck at thinly slicing tuna.

2) I suck at peeling and julienne-ing bell peppers.

3) I suck at patience (e.g., deboning and thrice soaking in milk then rinsing anchovy fillets).

I suppose I should look on the bright side of things. This recipe did teach me that two jobs I know for sure that I do not want in any professional kitchen are that of Olive Pitter or Pepper Peeler. I could handle the job of Anchovy Deboner because it totally appeals to me in a freakish sort of way. However, this is a dish where I should've had someone come over and help me with the prep because the things I usually find soothing and relaxing (chopping, slicing, etc.) stressed me out even more than I already was. Again, it was a crappy, busy week professionally, and I think it tainted my enjoyment of making this dish. Which bums me out. Alright. Gotta shake it off and get crackin' here.

Let's start with the tuna. Thankfully, I bought two slabs of tuna because I knew I'd probably need a second one as a backup, and I was right. Wow, I had no idea how bad I was at thinly slicing fish. It's something I definitely need to work on if I'm ever going to do this dish again. Here's the tuna before:



And here's the tuna after it's been sliced into 6 thin pieces and placed on oiled plastic wrap for flattening:



Embarrassing, isn't it? I almost didn't post this photo but then just decided I'd better 'fess up about how bad it looked, and that I was going to have to focus on taste more than presentation on this one. Here's what the tuna looked like after it had been pounded and rolled flat:



Yeah. Pretty bad. Oh well. I folded it all up in the plastic and stored it on a tray in the fridge while I prepped everything else. Up next is the tapenade. Here's the mise en place:



I love the smell of this -- oil, olives, mustard and anchovies. Deeeee-lish. You'll see the finished product in the plating portion of our program.

Now, for the salad. Here's the base of it, which is an herb salad of Italian parsley, chervil, chive tips, tarragon leaves and thyme leaves. The recipe also listed chive or thyme flowers which I couldn't find, so I was just generous with the thyme and chives on their own.



After making the herb salad -- which I would like to turn into soap somehow and bathe in it because it smelled so fresh and clean -- I then tossed in some frisée (which still reminds me of dental floss, but I'm hating it less and less these days):



Then, I tossed in the julienned red and yellow bell peppers and fennel, as well as deep fried capers, then drizzled a little bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and continued to hand-toss it:



Yeah, I know you must be asking yourself, "um, deep fried capers?" Yes. Deep fried capers. I strained a teaspoon or so of capers and fried them for 15 minutes in canola oil that was heated to 250 degrees:



Last but not least were the eggs. I hard-boiled six quail eggs, flattened the bottoms so they'd stand up and dipped the tops in paprika. You can see those in the final plating which is here:



Oh yeah. Forgot to mention the brioche crouton. Because I'd had such a lousy week, I didn't feel like making the brioche from scratch this morning, so I picked up a loaf at Balducci's and made the crouton with that. Yum. I can't wait to make Keller's brioche though, because it sounds great and I bet it'll make the house smell amazing.

I invited the neighbors over for a taste, and we all enjoyed it, but I have to be honest and say that even if I hadn't been in a bad mood today, I don't think I'd make this again. It was good, but not good enough to go through all the prep (and yes, for those of you playing along with the actual cookbook in hand, I also blew off the pepper confetti).

Alright. Let me end on a good note. One good thing that came out of making this dish was all the LEFTOVER TAPENADE which is what I'll have on toasted baguette slices tomorrow morning with a goat cheese omelet (made with the leftover quail eggs and bell peppers, which I'll roast tonight). That with a cup of good, strong coffee and life will be good again.

Before I go, let me take a minute to thank you for your comments and incredibly awesome emails as of late. I love that you are enjoying the site, and I want you to know how grateful I am that you continue to follow along. I'm almost a quarter of the way through the book, and I feel like I'm warmed up enough to try some of the more complex dishes. Glad you're clicking in from all the corners of the world to watch it all happen. Thank you.

Up Next: Perail de Brebis with Frisée aux Lardons

Wine Pairing: Willamette Valley Vineyards Pinot Noir, 2004.

Brands Used:
All-Clad cookware
Yellowfin tuna and brioche from Balducci's
Antica Italia olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Quail eggs, produce and herbs from H-Mart
365 canola oil
Paesana capers
Niçoise olives from Whole Foods
Penzeys paprika
Grey Poupon dijon mustard
Bellino anchovies

Music to Cook By: REO Speedwagon; Hi Infidelity. Shut UP. I was trying to cheer myself up. Clearly this album didn't help. But it was fun to sing along with and pretend to be in 7th grade again. This time, sans acne.