Tuna-turned-salad

The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

It’s the classic dish Nicoise salad (pronounced “ni-swaz” and named for the city of Nice in the Cote D’Azur region of France).

Devon Morgante, chef-owner of Vita Cucina,  whipped up this salad featuring seared tuna steaks, fresh vegetables and pitted kalamata olives with a tangy vinaigrette on Thursday.

“The best thing about this dish,” he said, “is that it’s a light lunchtime, summertime dish.”

Nicoise salad calls for lettuce, potatoes, tomatoes, green beans and eggs — most people already have these in their kitchen or perhaps left over from the previous day’s cooking, Morgante said.

For this dish, Morgante used red potatoes, cherry tomatoes, green leaf lettuce and green beans from Ocean Air Farms. He also picked up some purple Peruvian potatoes from the grocery store.

But first, the most important element had to be procured from the Crescent City Harbor.

The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

Fishermen are selling their tuna right off their boats off and on, but last week everyone seemed to have headed back into the Pacific.

Those fishermen might be back by now, but if not, Alber Seafoods has hundreds of pounds of tuna for sale.

The catch with this tuna, though, is that it’s been frozen in San Francisco, which is not good for one’s carbon footprint. However, it is a dependable source, and it is caught locally.

Since this tuna has already been frozen and thawed out, don’t freeze it again. Morgante suggests putting the tuna loins in a storage bag, wrapping it in a kitchen towel and placing on a tray. Then, pack a few bags with ice and situate on top of the wrapped-up tuna and put it in the refrigerator.

The prepping stage

Start the potatoes off in a pot of water just about half-an-inch above the  potatoes with a pinch of water. Bring the water to low simmer, Morgante said, because a high boil will cook the outside of the potatoes quicker than the inside.

“Food is delicate,” he said.

Morgante used leftover boiled eggs for this dish, but if using fresh, put the eggs in a pot of cold water just like the potatoes and bring to a boil.

Once the water is boiling, turn off the heat, cover the pot and let it sit for about four minutes for slightly runny middles or for seven to eight minutes for set yolks. Drain the hot water and put the eggs in ice water and let them sit for five to 10 minutes.

Morgante said two-week-old eggs are best to use because they’ve had a chance to dehydrate and the inner membrane will peel easier.

After the eggs are cool, peel the shell and membrane right away.

The green beans are a much quicker process. Put them in a pot of cold water, bring to a boil for just two minutes, and then cool.

After the eggs and potatoes are cool, cut them into quarters along with the cherry tomatoes.

With the vegetables prepped, it’s time to cook the tuna.

A light sear on each side

Morgante first trimmed the fat, silver skin and connective tissue off the tuna loin. He then cut the thickest part of the tuna loin (farthest from the tail, which will be thinner and more sinewy) into one- to one and a half-inch-thick steaks.

Next, put a few lines of extra-virgin olive oil on a small plate and place each circular tuna steak in the oil.

“Then give it a little flip,” Morgante said. “And hit it with some fresh-cracked pepper and Kosher salt.”

Place each tuna steak in a heated non-stick pan over high heat. You should hear the flesh searing right away.

“We can cook with our ears also,” Morgante said. “If you don’t hear the sear, (the pan) is not hot enough. Pull it back and do it the correct way.”

Just a few minutes on each side should be enough, he said. Check to make sure each side is a little brown. To finish off the tuna, Morgante cut each steak lengthwise.

As it cooks, the pinkness of the tuna will turn white starting at the bottom and moving toward the center. However, don’t wait until the entire tuna steak is cooked all the way through. As it cools off, it will continue to cook.

“For tuna,” Morgante said, “it’s OK for it to be a little under-done.”

The finishing touches

Devon Morgante explains the searing process for the tuna. The Daily Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

Morgante put the miniature head of green leaf lettuce (bottom cut off) in the center of the plate and then the green beans, potatoes, eggs, tomatoes and kalamata olives. He cut each tuna steak in half and placed it on the plate.

“See how the tuna continued to cook,” he noted about the pinky-white inside.

Morgante had already mixed up the vinaigrette in a jar, but be sure to give it one good shake before drizzling it over the food. The final touch is a few fresh-cut chives on top.

Morgante suggested paring Nicoise salad with a pinot gris from RoxyAnn Winery north of Medford.

“It’s a good light, crisp, summery wine for a warm day,” he said.

Knowing how to pair wines with food is some people’s forte, as is cooking.

However, some of these basics like boiling  eggs or canning are getting lost, Morgante said. Fewer and fewer people are passing down these techniques to the next generation. But, he said, it is possible to regain that knowledge.

“To be in control of food is a very powerful thing,” he said.