GuacaTuna Redux

A while back (in 2009) I created a dish called Guacatuna. The idea was to replace the mayonnaise in tuna salad with mashed avocado. The texture was about the same, but the flavor was better. The mango added a little behind the scenes sweetness.

A couple of weeks I improvised on the idea and combined the avocado with a little mango - keying off this dish . Another success, I am pleased to say.

Ingredients

8oz Fresh Tuna

2 Avocados - flesh scooped out

1 mango - peeled and diced

2 pickling onions - minced (you could use 1/2 red onion, minced if you prefer)

1/2 habanero pepper

1/4 cup olive oil (you may not need all of it. It depends on the avocado)

1 bunch cilantro, chopped finely, Save some small leaves for garnish

a few cherry tomatoes halved

Pomegranate arils for garnish

salt/pepper to taste

coarse salt for crunch

Lettuce for serving, (Butter lettuce leaves or grilled romaine)

Method

Salt and pepper the tuna, then grill it over charcoal until the interior is light pink. Allow it to cool, and then flake into bite sized pieces.

Meanwhile, place the avocado, mango, habanero into the blender and pulse a few times. It will clog up, so thin with a little high quality olive oil. You want it to be smooth and the texture of mayonnaise.

Combine the tomatoes, cilantro, minced onion and tuna with the avocado mixture. Season the mixture to taste.

Serve on a bed of butter lettuce (or as we did with some grilled romaine). Garnish with the pomegranate and cilantro. Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt over the salad and serve immediately.

The wine that evening was the Spier Chenin Bland - which at < $10 per bottle is terrific value for a midweek supper.

Leeks, mushrooms, asparagus

I suppose this is one of those dishes where an exotic name (preferably in an obscure language) is appropriate. But I decided just to be prosaic. It's more one of those, "What do we have lying around?" kinds of dishes. It turned out well, and got the "We can serve this to people" accolade.
To get the asparagus to behave, I cooked the stem ends for a minute before adding the tips.

Ingredients

2T Unsalted butter

3 leeks, white and light green parts, rinsed, and chopped finely

6 oz mushrooms, sliced (We had some white and some cremini, so used both)

1 minced jalapeno pepper

12 oz fresh asparagus cut into 2" lengths

2 T Port (I would have preferred a medium dry sherry, but port was what I could find)

2T water

2 dozen cherry tomatoes, halved

salt/pepper to taste

Sea salt to sprinkle for extra crunch

Method

Melt the butter over low heat in a large skillet. Add the leeks and sweat them (adding a little salt) for 4 or 5 minutes, taking care not to brown them. Move the leeks to the edge of the pan, and place the mushrooms in the center, turning up the heat a bit. Cook the mushrooms until they have driven off most of their moisture. Combine the leeks and mushrooms, add the port and the asparagus stalks. Put the lid on the pan and steam gently for a minute or so. Add the water and the asparagus tips, steam for a further 2 minutes with the lid on the pan.

Turn off the heat and immediately add the cherry tomatoes. Stir to combine and serve.

We had this as a main course, but it would make an excellent side dish, perhaps in a warm salad, or as a bruschetta on grilled baguette slices.