Avocado, thinly sliced – use lime juice to keep from browning
Chili Sweet Potato Corn Cakes
Jicama-pineapple slaw
Wasabi-cucumber yogurt
Sriracha
A day off of drinking
A day off of drinking
Had the day off Sunday, I wasn’t brewing, so my girlfriend and I went to the store to figure out what to have for dinner. And things for cocktails. I had avocados I needed to use. Nice cool, rich flavor. I’ve also been playing a lot with making the ultimate chili powder, so I said, let’s do something kinda Mexican. Hey, it’s what I know right now. Then we decided to have tuna since I had avocado, it’d be sushi-like. We got some of the frozen-at-sea tuna steaks – good price and probably fresher than anything else; prepare rare at your own risk I guess. So tuna, avocado…let’s have something crunchy. Something fried. Sweet potatoes. Mmmm. And then we decided on a bunch of other shit and went home. I went to work. So some kind of sushi-Mexican fusion I guess. Kinda cool. Using two types of heat, chili and wasabi. Combine with cooling flavors, cucumbers, herbs, avocado, yogurt. I like contrast, it can enhance opposing flavors/textures. This isn’t a hard dish. You’re only cooking two things…but there’s a good bit of prep. Some work involved, but it’s easy.
Sear the tuna right before you serve. Coat the steaks with oil and season lightly with salt and pepper. Get your pan really hot and do maybe 30 seconds to a minute on either side, depending on the thickness of the steak. The outside edges should just start to cook when you remove it.
Plate however you want. Don’t worry about what I did. It’s kind of sloppy anyway. The plate’s chipped and there’s a big smear on the left side that I didn’t wipe. It still tasted great. You can garnish near the yogurt sauce with cukes and herbs. Maybe a chili with the spicy flavors. Maybe the hot, red, and chili flavors on one side with the cool, fresh, green flavors on the other. Have fun with it. Have some pineapple juice and rum alongside it like we did! Enjoy!
Jicama-Pineapple slaw
Jicama, julienned
Cubed pineapple
Mix it together.
Chili Sweet Potato Corn Cakes
Sweet potato, thinly shredded, and drained
Egg, beaten
Hominy Grits
Good dose of your favorite homemade chili powder
Sesame oil
Salt and pepper
Mix the chili powder, sesame oil, and salt in with the shredded sweet potato, each a little at a time until you like the flavor. Mix the egg in the shredded sweet potato and add the grits until it just starts to bind together well. Shape into small, thin patties and pan-fry in a neutral tasting oil. These are a lot like latkes.
Wasabi-Cucumber Yogurt
Plain full fat yogurt
Buttermilk or water
Cucumber, seeded, minced, and drained
Your favorite wasabi paste
Cilantro, minced
Mint, minced
Just mix everything until you get a consistency/flavor you like. Don’t use wasabi powder directly, make it into a paste first. I like to thin the yogurt out with some fresh buttermilk. Or you could use water.
