Fried Mint Crusted Tuna

I've sung the praises of chef Michel Richard and his recent cookbook, Happy in the Kitchen, previously on this site.

One idea that struck me in his cookbook was a technique that crusted lamb in fried basil.  I found myself revisiting the picture of this dish, as the bright green fried basil contrasting the pink medium rare lamb made for stunning dish.

I tried crusting lamb with fried herbs a few times over the past few months, often with great results.  There was no doubt the concept was tasty.  A burst of herbaceous flavor - crackling with texture - was a welcome crust and received great reviews from guests.  I was photographically challenged during both of those occasions, so this site has been long overdue for a fried herb crusting.

I randomly went with tuna this time, solely for the desire of having fish for dinner.  The process here is pretty simple. I fried some mint in small saucepan  in olive oil for only 30 seconds.  After draining the mint and salting it immediately, I ground the herbs with some bread crumbs in a food processor until fine.  The mint should double the bread crumb in proportion.

Richard coats his lamb with egg yolk to ensure the fried herb crust adheres.  This technique works well, but I chose to go au natural for the tuna.  I rolled all sides of the fish in the fried mint crust and seared each side for about 30 seconds in an olive oiled, non stick pan.  The goal here was not to cook the fish, but rather to get the crust to adhere and become one with the tuna.

A dipping sauce of soy, toasted sesame seed oil, a bit of olive oil, lemon juice and a squeeze of siracha made for a nice accompaniment.  However, this technqiue almost begs for enjoyment without a sauce or vinaigrette. 

As expected, the burst of mint flavor and crackling texture is nothing short of fantastic.   This is a technique that will no doubt be part of my arsenal indefinitely. 

Comments

[s'kat]

You know, I picked up that book last month, oohed and ahhed my way through it, then promptly forgot about it.

This picture has me oohing and ahhing all over again. Thanks for the remider, I'll bet that was superb.

[mike]

wow, would love to try this...have you done other types of fried herb crusts??

[Ken Jaffee]

Thanks for the technique suggestion. This is a great example of why I like your site and blog. You stay true to your beliefs and give us great ideas about techniques...fry an herb...and encourage us to go see what can be done. Not your recipes as the answers. Love your taste concepts, though. Keep going!!!

[TS]

I tried something like this today with less-than-stellar results. I used panko crumbs, so maybe that was a part of it, but I also found that frying the mint really caused it to give up a lot of flavor (though I think the texture of fried mint is really fun and could be useful in all sorts of places). Is this just a difference in tastes or am I missing something?

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