French Thursday with Dorie: Two Tunas

I’m a little jealous.  As I am writing this, my parents are actually in Paris, eating French food and pastries, and enjoying the sights and sounds of the city.  I have to console myself by participating in French Fridays with Dorie.

As you may have noticed, today isn’t actually Friday.  I’m running almost a week behind.  Better late than never!

I have two recipes to tell you about: Tuna and Mango Ceviche and Tuna Confit with Black Olive Tapenade and Tomato Salsa.  The group has done two tuna recipes lately, and I decided to do them both in the same week.

Tuna and Mango Ceviche

Ceviche is a dish made of raw fish marinated in citrus juice to “cook” it.  This version is inspired by the cuisine of Senegal, which was once a colony of France.  The main ingredients are mango, avocado, red onion, and sushi-grade tuna.  They are seasoned with red onion and ginger, and marinated in lime juice, olive oil and rum.

I really liked the flavors in this dish, but they made me wish I were sitting outdoors in a tropical location, soaking up the sun!  I think it was the lime and mango that did it.

Tuna Confit with Black Olive Tapenade and Tomato Salsa

Tuna Confit.  Tuna submerged in olive oil and aromatics for a long marinade, then cooked slowly in the marinade.  The aromatics include preserved lemon (I made my own!), sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, white onion, celery, parsley, thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice.

After the tuna is cooked, Dorie has us serve it with a tomato salsa and a dollop of olive tapenade.  I decided to try her olive tapenade recipe and it was easy and delicious!  I served it all on a bed of mashed potatoes.

I used a lot of vegetables from the garden for this meal!  Cherry tomatoes, rosemary, potatoes, and even the sun-dried tomatoes.

Yummy, comforting meal!  I liked this one a lot.  It was a lot of fun to try, and it was great to make use of some of the garden veggies.

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This post participates in French Fridays with Dorie, an online group cooking our way through Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.  We don’t share recipes, but I encourage you to get the book.

For those of you keeping track, I only have 4 make-up recipes to go!  I can do it!