Spicy Tuna & Ginger Burgers
My newest collection to my cookbook shelf is Gwenyth Paltrow's “My Father's Daughter.” A quick check on google.com shows a lot of negative reviews about her cookbook. Some complain that her recipes are inedible, or the reviewers can't find certain ingredients or they can't stand her arrogance. Yes, she lives in an alluring, luxury lifestyle and very few of us are fortunate enough to have our “best investment” be a wood burning pizza oven, but we often forget that she is also human and like the rest of us, enjoys fresh healthy food with a slight personal touch to a recipe to make it our own. I think this cookbook is fantastic. It gives me a lot of ideas to make my own recipes.
The first thing I made from her book was the Tuna & Ginger Burgers because honestly, I never had a seafood burger before. I almost always avoid cooked seafood at restaurants because they are either frozen or rancid.
Fresh fish is almost impossible to find in the desert. The search for fresh tuna was unsuccessful. Ask for tuna and they point you to aisle five where the canned tuna is stored. Chicken of the Sea in Gwenyth Paltrow’s tuna burger? Blasphemy. This mission required fresh tuna!!! After a lot of searching I found it! 12 dollars a pound. The price is little steep but we are in the middle of the desert, but almost one pound creates two burgers. The majority of the other products can be found in your pantry, and even if you have to buy a few it will still cost you the same as a combo meal at the local burger joint.
I modified Gwen's recipe a little bit.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 teaspoon wasabi powder
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 8oz yellowfin tuna, chunk chopped
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons kerrygold butter
- 4 shallots
- pickled ginger slices
- avocado, sliced
- spinach
- soy & sesame mayo*
- whole wheat hamburger buns
- srircha (optional)
Combine the wasabi, mustard and water in a small bowl. Scrape it into a food processor along with the pepper, salt and tuna. Pulse just to combine - be careful not to overprocess the tuna as you want your burgers to have texture. Form the mixture into two burgers and set in the refrigerator for at least two hours (up to overnight) to let the flavors really settle in.
Meanwhile, heat the butter over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add the shallots and saute for 15 minutes or until caramelized.
Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Cook tuna burgers for three to four minutes a side, to desired doneness. Spread the buns with the mayo and drizzle with srircha on both buns. Pile on the spinach and avocado and tuck in the burger then top with pickled ginger and sauteed shallots.
soy & sesame mayo*
this is a good topping option for tuna burgers.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 cup olive oil mayo
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
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whisk everything together
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Serves 2.