Monday, January 14, 2013

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.

12 comments:

Keely Marie said...

this dish is SUPER impressive Lexi! Kaffir lime leaves? love it!!!

Sara @Pidge's Pantry said...

Beautiful! I love your deconstructed plate and the ahi is perfect for these flavors!

Unknown said...

i love the bento style going on here! where did those serving plates come from???

Camilla M. Mann said...

Someone was just asking me about Kaffir lime leaves. Beautiful!

Lexi said...

Thanks Keely!

Lexi said...

Thank you Sara! It was a great pick.

Lexi said...

Hi Margie, I'm not sure where I purchased those plates but the are Luigi Bormioli.

Lexi said...

Thanks Camilla! I have a huge tree and could mail some to anyone. I use them in my Thai and Vietnamese cooking. This was the first time I tried plating on top of them and it worked well.

Cathleen said...

Wow, this looks fantastic! What a meal, yum!

Lexi said...

Thanks Cathleen!

Angry Asian said...

this looks so incredibly impressive, seriously.

and you have a keffir lime leaf tree? i am incredibly jealous. my aunt in CA send me a HUGE bag of the leaves 2 years ago. i have it stashed in the freezer & slowly using it up, but i would much prefer access to fresh leaves like you.

Erin @ The Goodness Life said...

Ooh, Lexi, how creative! I love your fancy presentation. I wish all that stuff in your yard would grow up here in cold and rainy Vancouver ;)