the autumn tuna

i wanted to make tuna last week, and alicia thought i was crazy.

"yeah right," she says.

"why not?"

"because it's not summer."

and that was it. she was right. tuna is that light dish that evokes warmer months and delicate flavoring. it's center is cool and seared exterior an earthy white. there's nothing there that screams out cold-comfort nor the essence of autumnal cooking.

so i cooked it anyway.

here's how:


pictured above is a raw salad of parsnip, honeycrisp apple, cucumber, anaheim chile, shallots, and lemon juice. it's fall ingredients, but taken with an approach that i hoped would match the tuna, which i marinated in apple cider and soy sauce.

but apples and tuna? don't seem to go hand in hand so much. gag me kind of, yeah?

or not. i reduced the cider and soy mixture and when it was done dressed it over the tuna, which sat side by side with the salad. somehow, the sauce, and the cold apple in the salad, worked really, really well together. this was something i think alicia was terrified to try, and for both of us, flavors we'd never had together before. and when it came down to it, we just had a simple piece of seared tuna with a raw, cold salad for dinner. light and healthy.

and a few days later, when i was hungry and alicia was out teaching, it made for good left overs with a kicked up grilled cheese to boot...