Text 12939, 103 rader
Skriven 2008-08-28 23:33:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE SACERDOTE
Ärende: Re: Absinthe 1
======================
-=> Quoting Dave Sacerdote to All <=-

 DS> absinthe

 DS> Alas, no drunkenness, debauchery, mania or insanity resulted

The modern versions are low in wormwood and therefore low in
thujone. The real thing won't make you hallucinate just throw
spasms. [g] You'd get more stoned (and perhaps kill yourself) on
sage oil.


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     Title: California Tuna Conservata, Italian Style Part 1
Categories: Italian, Preserving, Tuna
  Servings: 4

      1 lb tuna, in 1 inch chunks
      1 c  olive oil
           garlic
           red pepper
           bay leaf
           lemon peel

Preserve it in spiced olive oil and you get a rich, meaty taste
ready to serve in salad, with pasta or as a topping for bruschetta.

Tuna prepared this way is somewhere between fresh and canned. Let's
called it "conserved," to honor its inspiration, the old Italian
tradition of preserving meat under olive oil, sometimes called
conservata.

Especially now, when Southern California's summer albacore run is
heating up and neighborhood fishermen are bringing home their catch,
this is something you've just got to try.

Here's how you do it: Cut fresh tuna in big chunks and poach it in
olive oil flavored with garlic and spices over very low heat just
until the meat begins to flake -- about 15 minutes. Cool in the pan
and then store, in the flavored olive oil, in the refrigerator.

The flavor is rich and pure without a trace of fishiness and the
texture is downright meaty -- none of that mealiness you sometimes
get with commercial stuff. And because you're controlling the
process, you can flavor the oil any way you want, lending subtle
hints you won't find in regular canned tuna.

You can use this conserved tuna in any way you'd use the best canned
stuff: make a salad with potatoes and green beans as they do in
southern France, or with white beans as they do in Spain. Mix it
into a spicy fresh tomato sauce for pasta. Fold it into a caper
mayonnaise. Stuff it into roasted red peppers. Or just top
bruschetta with little chunks of it, being sure to spoon over some
of that good olive oil.

About the only thing you can't do with this tuna is stick it in the
pantry and forget about it. Because tuna and other meats are so low
in the acidity that would prevent bacterial growth, they must be
pressure-canned to be absolutely safe.

On the other hand, conserved tuna will last quite nicely in the
refrigerator for a week or more. And this process is so easy you can
make it with only a pound or two at a time. Once you taste it,
there's no way that much will last that long.

This quickly conserved tuna has become popular with some chefs and
has been included in several recent restaurant cookbooks. I found
examples in "The Young Man and the Sea" by David Pasternack of New
York's Esca, the upcoming "A16: Food & Wine" by San Francisco's Nate
Appleman and Shelley Lindgren, and the ever-reliable "The Zuni Cafe
Cookbook" by Judy Rodgers.

As I tried out the recipes, the first thing that became apparent was
how flexible the technique is. You can cook the tuna briefly or for
a long time. You can cook it in water or you can cook it in oil. You
can flavor the oil or you can leave it plain.

All of the techniques work, though each results in a slightly
different dish. Cooked in water, tuna tastes more purely of fish and
the texture is firmer and meatier. Cooked in oil, the flavor is more
complex and the texture is softer and richer. Cooked for a long time
in oil, the tuna absorbs even more of the garlic and spice flavors,
but dries out a bit. Cooked briefly, the flavor isn't quite as
developed, but the texture is nicer.


  From: Gretl Collins To: Foodwine      
 
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Cheers

YK Jim


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