SEARED AHI WITH PONZU SAUCE

It's Monday and that means another recipe project from the Food Matters Cookbook. This week our host is Sara from Pidge's Pantry. Sara chose Mark Bittman's recipe for Sesame Noodles with Spinach and Salmon. His recipe uses the flavors of oshitashi (a Japanese spinach salad) and pairs it with salmon and noodles. I went down to the harbor with this recipe in mind but when I saw the fresh ahi being prepped for the finest restaurants in town my plans changed and I snagged a piece. I deconstructed the recipe and made a cold oshitashi salad by cooking the spinach until slightly wilted. After squeezing out the water I rolled it in a sushi mat.

Then cut it in to small serving pieces, topped with ponzu sauce and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

The pasta was a whole wheat fettuccine tossed with a spicy peanut sauce.

For my ahi, I lightly brushed the fish with grapeseed oil. Heated a cast iron skillet until smoking hot and then seared the ahi for about 1 minute per side. I served the ahi on a bed of Kaffir lime leaves and a drizzle of Ponzu sauce. The Kaffir leaves infused the hot ahi with a wonderful citrusy flavor. I grow this lime tree just for the leaves. You can read more about it here.

You can find Mark Bittman's recipe on Sara's blog here. For all the other members creative takes on this recipe click here.