Chicken of the Woods Meets Chicken of the Sea: Tuna and Mushrooms
Reprinted with permission from The Broad Fork (Clarkson Potter, 2015).
Yield: 4 servings
3/4 pound sushi-grade tuna
kosher salt
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon peanut oil, divided
1/2 pound chicken of the woods mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced into thin strips*
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt to taste
1/4 cup whole fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 sheets toasted nori, torn into small pieces
Season tuna on both sides with kosher salt and set aside. Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt 1 teaspoon butter. Add 1 teaspoon peanut oil and mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are lightly browned and softened. Deglaze pan with vinegar, scraping at bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all of the tasty bits. Add chicken stock and cook stock down by half, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Finish by stirring in remaining 1 teaspoon butter, just until it forms a glaze. Take mushrooms off heat and let them rest while you cook tuna.
Heat another heavy sauté pan over high heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil. Pat tuna very dry with paper towels. When oil is smoking hot, sear tuna for about 1 minute per side, just enough to brown outside. I suggest a very rare tuna. That’s why you bought really good stuff, right? Remove tuna from heat and slice it very thin with a sharp knife. Arrange slices on a platter and top with warm mushrooms. Garnish with parsley leaves, sesame seeds, and nori.
*“Chicken of the woods” is another name for the sulfur shelf mushroom. You could use whole shiitakes, chanterelles, or even portobellos in this recipe and still have a winner.
Yield: 4 servings
3/4 pound sushi-grade tuna
kosher salt
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon peanut oil, divided
1/2 pound chicken of the woods mushrooms, brushed clean and sliced into thin strips*
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
salt to taste
1/4 cup whole fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
2 sheets toasted nori, torn into small pieces
Season tuna on both sides with kosher salt and set aside. Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and melt 1 teaspoon butter. Add 1 teaspoon peanut oil and mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are lightly browned and softened. Deglaze pan with vinegar, scraping at bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all of the tasty bits. Add chicken stock and cook stock down by half, about 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Finish by stirring in remaining 1 teaspoon butter, just until it forms a glaze. Take mushrooms off heat and let them rest while you cook tuna.
Heat another heavy sauté pan over high heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil. Pat tuna very dry with paper towels. When oil is smoking hot, sear tuna for about 1 minute per side, just enough to brown outside. I suggest a very rare tuna. That’s why you bought really good stuff, right? Remove tuna from heat and slice it very thin with a sharp knife. Arrange slices on a platter and top with warm mushrooms. Garnish with parsley leaves, sesame seeds, and nori.
*“Chicken of the woods” is another name for the sulfur shelf mushroom. You could use whole shiitakes, chanterelles, or even portobellos in this recipe and still have a winner.