This is not only our family’s favorite pancake recipe, but it’s the one I always make when guests are spending the night. They are absolutely delicious–the pancakes, not the guests–and unlike any other pancakes you’ve had.
If you need to go with a gluten-free diet, no worries: my favorite all-purpose GF flour, “Cup 4 Cup,” worked so well in this recipe, there was no difference in taste or texture. Now this is the only way I make ’em and no one notices the difference!
I use organic lemons, if I can find them, because all the nasty sprays used with non-organics are absorbed by the skin, which is used in this recipe. (They don’t wash off.)
1 cup all-purpose flour (or Cup 4 Cup original multi-purpose flour)
1 1/2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk (or 1 1/2 cups milk and the juice of 1 large organic lemon)
zest of 1 organic lemon
1 large egg
3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter, slightly cooled
1–2 teaspoons avocado oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, preferably wild, rinsed and dried
Whisk the flour, corn meal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, lemon zest, and melted butter into the buttermilk (or milk and lemon mixture) to combine. (Hint: zest the lemon first, then juice it.)
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients in the bowl. Pour in the milk mixture and whisk very gently until just combined. Do not over-mix. A few lumps are OK.
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil and use a brush to coat the skillet bottom evenly. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into 3 spots on the skillet. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the blueberries over each pancake.
Cook the pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Using a thin, wide spatula, flip the pancakes and cook until they’re golden brown on the other side, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer.
This is the most amazing fish sandwich I ever made.
There’s no other way to describe this sandwich, something that shouldn’t work in some ways and yet is absolutely perfectly crunchy and delicious. It starts with the cole slaw, ideally made a day in advance…
1 medium cabbage, sliced thinly
2 medium carrots, peeled, and finely chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Kosher dill pickle juice
1 teaspoon celery seed (not salt)
You can use a machine, but I like to finely slice my cabbage with a chef’s knife, cutting as thin as possible. Place the chopped cabbage in a large bowl.
For the carrots, peel them to remove the outer skin, and throw that away. Continue to peel the carrots into paper-thin slivers until there’s no carrots left. Finely chop those slivers and add them to the cabbage.
Add the mayonnaise, pickle juice, and celery seed, mixing thoroughly. Keep it in the fridge, covered with plastic, until ready to use. The next day, before using, taste it and decide whether you want more mayo or pickle juice, salt or pepper. Mix it well before using.
Like a classic pulled pork sandwich, the slaw will go inside! But it needs a sauce to tie it all together. Make this a day ahead as well.
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
1/4 teaspoon Tony Cacherre’s Original Creole Seasoning (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt (skip if using Creole seasoning)
1/8 teaspoon pepper (skip if using Creole seasoning)
Tony Cacherre’s Original Creole Seasoning is a personal favorite, and it works well in this sandwich. You can find it in many stores, and online. But if you don’t have it handy, salt and pepper do the job.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, mixing well. Keep it in the fridge, covered, until ready to use.
Cod or other white fish, preferably fresh, cut into sandwich-sized pieces (about 4″ square)
1 cup all-purpose flour (or Cup4Cup gluten-free flour, see below)
1 teaspoon celery seed (not salt)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
2 eggs
1 cup corn flakes, crumbled (or Corn Chex for gluten-free, see below)
avocado oil or other oil for frying
I had some grouper the last time I made this sandwich, and the results were fantastic. I suggest you use whatever white fish is your favorite.
Cut the fish into pieces that will fit the bread you’re using, and make sure the filets are the same thickness. Don’t make them thicker than 1/2″ or they’ll stay raw in the middle when you fry them. Set them aside.
In a bowl, combine the flour, celery seed, salt and pepper and cayenne (if you’re using it). Mix well.
In another bowl, crack the eggs and scramble them.
Put the corn flakes (or Corn Chex) in a plastic bag, squeezing the air out of it. Crush them into oatmeal-sized pieces, then pour them into a third bowl.
Heat a heavy pan with a couple of inches of oil. One by one, take the fish pieces and dredge them in the flour mixture, then into the egg, and then into the corn flakes, pressing into the corn flakes to make sure they stick to the fish.
When the oil in the pan is hot enough, fry the fish pieces on both sides, until cooked through and golden brown. Place them on paper towels to drain.
To assemble the sandwiches, take a slice of the rye bread and spread some of the sauce on it. Place a piece of the fried fish on top, then cover it with some of the cole slaw. Place a few thin slices of Swiss cheese on top of the cole slaw. Take another slice of rye, slather it with the sauce, and place it on top of the slaw, sauce-side down.
Brush the top of the sandwich with the melted butter, and place the sandwich on a sheet pan. Do the same with the rest of the sandwiches.
Place the sandwiches in the oven and bake them until the cheese melts. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve.
The gluten-free sandwich in the front.
What I changed to make this sandwich gluten-free…
My go-to all-purpose gluten-free flour is Cup4Cup. It works really well in any dish that requires all-purpose flour.
Not all corn flakes are gluten-free, and the ones that are can be hard to find. I found that Corn Chex cereal is a good substitute. It’s gluten-free, and has a nice crunch.
The Pepperidge Farm Marble Swirl Rye Bread is the ideal bread to use for this sandwich. But I made a pretty darn tasty gluten-free version using this Schar bread, found in many supermarkets.
Lamb is such an underrated meat. It was one of the things my Mom cooked really well, so I grew up loving it, and was never bothered by the gaminess of it.
If the gaminess does bother you, look for American lamb. If gamier meat doesn’t bother you, go for the gusto and get grass-fed New Zealand or Australian lamb.
The balsamic vinegar in this recipe is not the crazy expensive stuff. It’s the bottle you can get for about 9 bucks in the supermarket.
Place the lamb in a plastic bag and pour the marinade in, squishing it around to make sure it makes contact with the meat. Place it in a pan or a bowl to prevent accidental leaking.
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Let the lamb marinate for several hours at room temperature, or in the fridge overnight.
Before cooking, bring the lamb back to room temperature.
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Use some oil in a hot pan, and then sear the lamb on both sides. Place a lid on the pan, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
I cook lamb until I get the lamb to a perfect medium. That means cooking to 130-135 degrees. But cook it the way you like it!
Update:
Last night, I used this recipe to marinate some baby lamb chops. I love these, because they look like mini porterhouse steaks, and meat off the bone is always juicier and tastier.
I placed the lamb in a freezer bag with the marinade, and let it marinate a solid three hours at room temperature. Any longer than that, and it would go to the fridge.
I always remove meat from the fridge and let it come back to room temperature before I cook it…and this time, I decided to try my air fryer, set at 400. Not only did it cook the lamb perfectly, it gave it that nice slight char on the outside, as if I grilled it. Delicious!
I grow several varieties of squash and pumpkins in my garden every year, so I’ve got an overload of blossoms. They’re delicious sweet or savory.
In my savory version, the blossoms are stuffed with ricotta cheese, lightly battered, fried and served with a delicious tomato sauce.
The sweet version is directly below.
At home, we went for a sweeter version for breakfast, using pancake mix as the base, experimenting with two fillings: raspberry preserves or strawberry cream cheese.
I simply followed the directions on the box of pancake mix, using fat-free milk instead of whole milk and a little less of the dry ingredients to make the batter thinner than I would use for regular pancakes. I use King Arthur Gluten-Free Pancake Mix, which requires adding an egg and melted butter to make a smooth, slightly sweet batter. I set that aside and let it rest for a few minutes.
Next, it’s off to the garden to snip a handful of squash blossoms. I prefer the ones that are open. They’re easier to stuff, but it’s also easier to spot the little critters that like to make themselves comfortable inside. I carefully snip the blossoms off the plant, then give them a light shake, which is enough to convince the bugs inside to fly out. It’s pretty cool to find a happy bee inside every blossom that I snip.
Other than making sure all foreign particles (and insects) have been removed from the blossoms, and pulling out the stamen, no other preparation is needed. I snip the stems right up to the blossom, and they’re ready to be stuffed.
Blossoms stuffed with strawberry cream cheese and the fantastic raspberry preserves from Briermere Farms on the North Fork of Long Island!
I heat a few inches of grapeseed oil (or any other high smoke point oil) in a pan to 325 degrees, then start the process: I stuff the blossoms, closing the flower petals around the stuffing, then carefully dip them in the pancake batter, and release them gently into the oil, flipping them as they fry, until they’re golden in color.
I drain them on paper towels, dust them with powdered sugar, and they’re ready to be enjoyed.
For the savory version, I make my own batter.
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup low-fat milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon olive oil
water, as needed
Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and olive oil.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and mix well. If the batter is too thick, add water until it’s smooth and looser than pancake batter. If it’s too thick, it’ll get clumpy. You want it to be thin–just enough to coat the blossoms well, without too much batter on each one.
Fresh out of the garden!
For the stuffing…
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
pinch of salt
pinch of oregano
In a bowl, mix the stuffing ingredients well.
Add a small spoonful of the stuffing into the cleaned and prepared squash blossoms. Dip them in the batter to coat, then gently place them in a pan or deep fryer with grapeseed oil, or other high smoke point oil at 325 degrees.
Stuffed and ready to dip in the batter. (I eat the baby squashes attached as well!)
Fry them until they’re golden, placing them on a metal rack to cool and to let the oil drip off.
I prefer a deep fryer over a pan of oil.
Season with salt while they’re hot!
They’re delicious by themselves or with a little marinara sauce on the side.
Inspired by a garden full of fennel and my fanatical love for all things pork, this recipe just happened. I use Berkshire heritage pork when possible, a far tastier and healthier choice over standard pork you find in a supermarket.
4 Berkshire pork chops
4 tablespoons finely chopped fennel bulb
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage
3 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
extra fennel bulb and fennel fronds
extra olive oil, salt and pepper for sauteing
Combine the chopped fennel, sage, garlic, salt, black pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Mix well and spread it all over the pork chops. Let them stand for an hour at room temperature.
Light a hot grill. Grill the pork chops until they’re done…with quality pork, that does not mean cook it to death! (An internal temperature of 160 is the way to go.)
Chop the extra fennel bulb into thin strips about an inch long. Remove the fennel fronds from their stems. Saute the bulb strips in olive oil, salt and pepper until they are almost crisp. Toss in the fennel fronds and cook until the fronds and bulb strips are crisp.
Serve the pork chops with crispy fennel and fronds on top.
Does anyone remember Art Ginsburg, also known as Mr. Food? His syndicated segments appeared on the news for almost 10 years. I met him back in 1993, and he was quite the self-promoter…but a really nice guy. Art passed away many years ago, but I still have his old cookbooks, and his simple but perfect pesto recipe has been my guide for decades.
We eat a ton of pesto at home. Most of the time, it’s simply mixed with pasta. But we stir it into tomato sauce and smear it on grilled chicken or beef as well.
Basil is the main ingredient in classic Italian pesto, and it’s growing rapidly under the summer sun in my garden right now. And that’s key to great pesto: when Mother Nature says the basil’s ready, be sure you have all the other ingredients and get to work!
Basil, ready to be picked.
Besides the fact that it simply tastes bad, the problem with store-bought pesto is that it’s expensive. Although homemade pesto isn’t cheap, you can still save a lot of money by making it yourself.
Some of my tips for saving money: buy good quality ingredients in bulk. My go-to olive oil is one from Tunisia called Terra Delyssa. It delicious, and can be found in large, affordable bottles at most supermarkets. I have one rule of thumb with olive oil: always buy a bottle from one source–one country. Don’t go for the blends.
There’s been a rash of articles about already-grated parmesan cheese that is 50% cellulose (wood) fiber. Stay away from that junk and buy yourself a nice chunk of the real deal: Parmigiano-Reggiano. Grate it yourself and taste the difference!
The most expensive (and questionable) ingredient in basic pesto is pine nuts. If you look on the back of the package (and you always should!) you’ll see that most pine nuts come from China. I don’t buy any food products from China…period. So sourcing “safe” pine nuts can be difficult. The Italian or Turkish pine nuts can be extremely expensive. Some from Siberia less so, but still questionable, in my mind. Sadly, it’s gotten to the point where I really had to start looking for an alternative to pine nuts.
They say they’re grown in New Mexico. I found them last year, but can’t find them anymore.
One of the reasons you want real pine nuts and not some look-alike from China is something called “pine mouth” or “pine nut mouth.” A small percentage of people experience a reaction after eating pine nuts that makes their mouth taste like metal–imagine putting a handful of pennies in your mouth–and the taste stays in their mouths for a couple of weeks, ruining their taste buds for the foods they love. (Eventually, it wears off.) Some scientists say you get “pine mouth” by eating counterfeit pine nuts–varieties like those from China that are not the same species. Others say that you can get the reaction even from real pine nuts. Research on this continues, but all the more reason not to buy any foods from China and other questionable countries.
Real Italian pine nuts. Notice the elongated shape, versus a rounder one for inferior nuts. But at $15+ per ounce, they’re crazy expensive!
There are alternatives to pine nuts, and you’ll find many pesto recipes that substitute with almonds or pistachios. I think those nuts change the taste of the pesto, plus they have a skin that leaves a gritty residue, which I don’t like. So I don’t use them. Macadamia nuts are a good substitute. They’re less expensive than pine nuts and usually come from Hawaii. They’re available everywhere, and none of my family or friends have noticed a change of the pesto’s flavor.
So here’s my sure-fire pesto recipe. I make massive amounts of it, store it in plastic storage containers with a tightly sealing screw-top lid, and put them in the deep freeze. They last all year, and thaw out easily.
2 cups fresh basil, packed down a little 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano) 1/2 cup real Italian pine nuts (or macadamias) 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
When measuring the basil, I pick dry leaves from the garden and place them in a measuring cup, lightly packing them until I get 2 cups. (More is better than less!) Then I remove them from the measuring cup and wash them, tossing them in a salad spinner to dry. Then they go into the food processor. (If you wash them before measuring, they will pack much more tightly, and you won’t get the correct amount.)
Add the other ingredients in the food processor with the basil and let it rip!
The color and fragrance of freshly-made pesto is hard to beat! For me, a bowl of pasta with pesto is real comfort food.
This is the time of year when I stop making banana bread for the gang at work, because the zucchini in my garden grows out of control. I’m pretty good at keeping an eye on things, but sometimes a giant zucchini pops up out of nowhere, and at that point, the only thing I can do is make zucchini bread!
I was recently told that zucchinis are green…summer squash is yellow. I use the word “zucchini” interchangeably, but technically, the variety I grow is, in fact, a zucchini and a squash!
Whatever you call it, use it! And make some delicious bread!
If the zucchini is really large, I slice it lengthwise, and remove the center section with all the seeds, because I don’t want that in my bread. But the smaller ones don’t have that problem. Then I grate the rest on a box grater. This recipe needs about 2 1/2 cups of grated zucchini, which is about 16 ounces.
When it comes to baking, I use my small kitchen scale to make most of the crucial measurements, because accuracy counts. It’s much more accurate than going by volume. But this recipe has both measurements, so you can try either method.
Substituting gluten-free flour for the basic all-purpose flour, will make this recipe gluten-free. I like to use the all-purpose GF flour by Cup4Cup.
And I like using olive oil as my vegetable oil, because I love the flavor and its health benefits. But feel free to use whatever vegetable oil you like.
2 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon Kosher salt 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
1 cup light brown sugar 1/2 cup white cane sugar 3/4 cup vegetable oil 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups (16 oz.) grated zucchini
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Grease an 8 x 8“ or 5″ x 10″ loaf pan with some of the vegetable oil. Then line it with parchment paper…it makes it easier to remove later.
In a bowl, mix together the first five ingredients.
In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients except the zucchini.
Add the grated zucchini to the bowl with the flour mixture and toss it around to coat.
Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until it’s combined.
Pour it into the pan.
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 45 to 60 minutes…but it could be even longer. Every oven is different, and different zucchini can have different moisture levels, so you may need to cook yours longer, depending on your situation. Even with all the high-tech thermometers I have, I find the good old-fashioned toothpick method still works best.
Remove the baking pan from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes. Then turn it over on a wire rack, removing the pan, and let the zucchini bread cool completely to room temperature before slicing.
This bread is so good, I just might let the zucchini overgrow more often!
I recently cooked another batch of zucchini bread in a round pan. Worked great! And I experimented with substitutions: I replaced 1/2 cup of the all-purpose flour with corn meal to give it a more rustic taste. And I replaced the 1/2 cup white cane sugar with 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Delicious!
These shrimp burgers are not only delicious, they’re pretty low in calories. The key to success is to use raw shrimp, not cooked. (Overcooked shrimp is never a good thing.)
I always use wild-caught American shrimp, not that nasty stuff from Asia. I’ve found wild-caught American shrimp almost everywhere, from supermarkets to membership clubs, and for a great price. You just have to make a bit of an effort to read the packages.
For this recipe, you don’t need to spend extra money for large shrimp. You’ll be chopping them up anyway…and I think the smaller shrimp are tastier. (A white fish, like cod, is also a good substitute for the shrimp.)
These patties hold together pretty well without a lot of breadcrumbs because the shrimp that goes in the food processor becomes a sticky paste that holds everything together. At around 1 calorie per gram, shrimp is a dieter’s best friend.
This recipe can be made gluten-free simply by using GF breadcrumbs. I make my own by buying frozen GF bread, like Udi’s. I toast it, then put it in the food processor to make breadcrumbs. They’re delicious, and you’d never know they’re gluten free!
1 lb. thawed, peeled and deveined medium wild-caught American shrimp 1/3 cup breadcrumbs 1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/2 small Vidalia onion or 1 scallion, finely chopped 1 large egg, lightly beaten Splash of cayenne pepper sauce, like Frank’s Red Hot, or a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Oil, for frying
Coarsely chop half of the shrimp. Place the other half in a food processor, and pulse it until smooth.
Combine all the shrimp in a bowl with the breadcrumbs, lemon juice, salt, garlic, pepper, onion, egg and optional cayenne pepper sauce.
I had a few radishes, so I chopped them up and mixed them with the onion. (That’s what the little red flakes are.) But that’s just me!
Refrigerate the mix for 10 minutes. Then remove it from the fridge and form the patties. (I like to use a 1/3 cup measure for this.) Once you’ve formed the patties, put them back in the fridge for another 10 minutes.
Heat the oil (I try to use as little as possible for calories’ sake) in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. I like avocado oil, but use your favorite. And if you’re not on a diet, use 1/4 cup of oil to get a nice fry going. Carefully place the burgers in the pan (they’re fragile!) and cook them about 3 minutes per side.
Getting a good sear on the first side before flipping them will help hold them together. You don’t want to undercook the burgers, but you don’t want to overcook shrimp, either.
Sometimes a piece will break off. That’s OK!
I make a simple remoulade using 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard to 1 tablespoon mayonnaise. Another option is to combine mayo with some Old Bay seasoning.
Home fries are a simple thing. But we’ve all been to a diner where the home fries tumbled out of a bag of frozen pre-cut potatoes, and tasted like cardboard. It’s time home fries got the respect they deserve.
Let’s get one thing out in the open from the very beginning: home fries were never meant to be low in calories! Mine are definitely not diet food! So, as you read this blog, if you’re shaking your head at the fat and calories, know that I know that you know!
3 lbs. Yukon gold or yellow potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2″ cubes 1 lb. bacon, chopped 2 Vidalia onions, finely chopped Lawry’s Seasoned Salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
I like my potatoes with the skin on, so I remove any blemishes on the skins, then cut the potatoes in approximately 1/2” cubes. Some can be larger, some smaller, and they don’t have to be perfect squares. The smaller pieces will cook and soften faster, while the larger pieces will retain their shape and texture.
Place the cut potatoes in a pot of clean, cold water over high heat on the stove. Add a little Kosher salt to the water. Let the potatoes cook until they are a bit al dente…a bit underdone. They will cook some more later in the pan. Drain them and set the potatoes aside.
Chop the bacon and start frying it. While the bacon is frying, finely chop the two onions. Add the onions to the pan when the bacon fat has rendered and the bacon has cooked completely to a golden brown. Now, here’s where eyebrows are often raised: Leave all the bacon fat in the pan!
Leave the bacon fat! It’s all about flavor!
Cook the onions until they are soft and translucent.
Now add the drained potatoes to the pan, mixing well, coating the potato pieces in the bacon fat.
Lightly season the potatoes with the Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. Remember: there’s a lot of salt already in the pan from the bacon.
Cook the potatoes in the pan, mixing well, and then add the butter in small pieces, scattered around the pan. Keep mixing until the potatoes brown a little.
One option that I like and started doing only recently: I add a pound or two of sweet potatoes to the mix. I keep the measurements of all the other ingredients exactly the same. I boil the sweet potatoes separately from the regular potatoes, because they cook more quickly. I drain them and set them aside and then mix them with the regular potatoes in the pan.
Either way, these home fries are delicious, and they store well in the freezer. So if you have guests coming over, you can make them a few days ahead of time and then just thaw them and re-heat them in the pan when it’s time to serve.
One of our favorite restaurants here in southern New England is The Back Eddy in Westport, Massachusetts.Great water views, great food, wonderful people.
One of their best-selling appetizers is deviled eggs, topped with raw tuna or without. My version has none of the finesse of their original dish, but it has a lot more tuna and all the flavor…which works for me!
6 hard-boiled eggs 1/4 cup + extra mayonnaise 8 oz. high quality raw tuna 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1/2 teaspoon chili oil 1/4 cup finely chopped scallions 1 teaspoon sesame seeds handful fresh spinach, or cucumbers (see below)
My newest favorite method of hard-boiling eggs (thank you, Alton Brown!) is to put them in a pot of boiling water, with a steamer basket inside. Place the eggs inside when it’s boiling, put the lid on, and steam for 12 minutes. Then plunge the eggs into an ice water bath for 3 minutes. Perfect every time, and they peel easily.
The official word on making sure there are no parasites in raw fish requires freezing and storing fish at a surrounding temperature of -4 degrees Fahrenheit or colder for seven days; or freezing at a surrounding temperature of -31 degrees or colder until the fish is solid and storing at the same temperature for 15 hours; or freezing at a surrounding temperature of -31 degrees until the fish is solid and storing at -4 degrees or below for 24 hours.
Since I don’t have the refrigeration equipment to do that, I buy high quality tuna already frozen into convenient bricks. Many supermarkets, like Whole Foods, carry them.
I always try to buy responsibly sourced, fair trade seafood, like this beautiful ahi tuna.
If the tuna is frozen, I let it thaw a little. If it has thawed, I return it into the freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up. That makes it easier to cut. I slice the tuna carefully into the smallest cubes I can make. Once done, I place the tuna in a bowl and put it back in the fridge until I’m ready to use it. If I feel the tuna is releasing a lot of water, I’ll put it on top of a paper towel in the fridge.
In a separate small bowl, I combine the soy sauce and the chili oil, and set it aside.
I finely chop the scallions, and set them aside.
Once the eggs have cooled, I peel them and cut them in half. I scoop out the yolks and place them in a bowl, starting with 1/4 cup of the mayonnaise, adding more if needed. I use a fork or whisk to get as many of the lumps out as possible. If I wanted to get serious, I could put them in a blender or food processor to make a creamy puree. An option is to place the puree in a piping bag and carefully squeeze it out into each egg half. I’d do that if I was serving guests. But otherwise, I simply use a spoon.
Once all the egg halves are filled, I place them on a plate and put them back in the fridge until ready to serve.
When it’s time to serve, I take the tuna out of the fridge, pouring the soy sauce/chili oil mix into the bowl with the tuna and I mix well. I let the tuna marinate for just 2 minutes, pouring off the excess marinade. I don’t want it to marinate too long, or it’ll get very salty.
I remove the plate of eggs from the fridge and carefully put a small spoonful of tuna on top of each one. I garnish with the sesame seeds and the chopped scallions and serve immediately.
It’s nice to have some crackers, toasted bread or even chips, on the side.
Live the Live ™ 