Here's a recipe for a meal I make regularly. It's a tuna steak with a spinach aioli, dill rice, and mushrooms. You can substitute the tuna for chicken and season the rice accordingly (more info below). This is a recipe for
one plate.
Make aioli first, then rice, then mushrooms, then steak*. You should be able to cook the steak in the same pan as the mushrooms, just keep um in a small bowl or something t'ill it's all done. When presenting I like to have a mound of rice on one side of the plate, the steak on the other, and then the mushrooms on top of the steak. Another nice touch is to have a lemon wedge for the tuna on a corner.
Spinach Aioli- 2 cloves of Garlic
- LIGHT Olive Oil
- ~ 1 tsp Lemon juice
- a pinch of Coarse Pepper
- a generous pinch of Coarse Salt
- 3 Spinach leaves. Yes, 3. Exactly 3. Or else it's ruined forever and ever. Also, no stems. They're like flavorless sap.
Aioli is typically used as a spread for sandwiches or dressing for salad (it's amazing with a caprese salad). The traditional way to make aioli is with a pistol and mortar but this ain't the dark ages no mo'. I used a food processor, blenders work too. Technically aioli is just supposed to just be oil, garlic, lemon, and salt. But that's boring so I like to add basil, spinach, lavender, or arugula. Any sort of collective seasonings are nice too, Italian is best imo- don't use too much though, it's supposed to be garlicy!
First step is to crush the garlic. Then you work in the salt while mincing it. Then you combine the garlicy goodness with the spinach, salt, and pepper, (and other seasonings if you so desire) and mash/blend it into a paste. If you're insane and are mashing it all together, I would cut up the spinach into little confetti sized pieces with scissor. Then you slowly drizzle olive oil while mixing until you get a thick mayo type texture. For one serving's worth it should not be that much at all. If you can see the oil separate from the paste even after mixing you used too much oil and are doomed. It may separate on it's own if you leave it out fer a bit... just mix it around if it does. Start adding lemon juice until it starts to seems like a rich, creamy yogurt. Set aside somewhere.
Rice- 1/3 Cup of rice
- Dill
- 1/2 tbsp Butter
I've always microwaved my rice. It's easy and tastes just as good as it would if steamed or made with a rice cooker. You'll need a sturdy microwavable container of some kind with a lid. Flimsy plastic tuperware will not do. 1/3 of a cup of rice is enough for one serving imo and the rule of thumb is twice as much water as rice. So 2/3 cups water first, then dill to taste (about two or three pinches works for me), mix it around. If you want more flavor you can always add things like those chicken bullione cubes, tomato sauce for that orange Mexican rice (cumin and chili powder are great additives for this!), pates, etc. Just make sure to mix dat stuff, then dump yer rice, mix again, microwave in 5 minute intervals, check and stir between intervals to see if it's done. If it's mushy keep going at 3 minute intervals. If it's crunchy you over microwaved it, might be salvagable with more water, just mix it so it gets in with all the rice and not just the top layer. I like to mix in a little butter once it's cooked. Lemon zest can be nice too.
Mushrooms
- ~5 mushrooms. I usually use crimini mushrooms with chicken or fish.
- Olive Oil
- A little bit of crushed Garlic
- Parmesan cheese
- Salt & Pepper, other seasonings if you want.
You shouldn't need a lot of oil, just pour less than a quarter's size in the center of the pan, spread it around, and turn it up a smidgen past medium. Too much oil results in soggy mushrooms and that's nasty. Throw in your garlic, salt, and pepper when the pan's hot. Stir around a bit and throw in the mushrooms. When the mushrooms are about done cooked to yer likin', sprinkle a generous pinch of cheese and stir. (I recommend them crunchier... pretty much black. That gives you a variety with the soft rice and hopefully flaky tuna.)
The Tuna Steak
Lather both sides of the steak with the aoili.
Heat up an appropriately sized pan to medium.
Fry both sides to your preference. It's usually recommended that you leave a
thin strip of pink between both sides, which means about 1 minute per side. If you're a pussy and are afraid of something as silly as salmonella or food poisoning you should fry it until it's white and golden brownish all over, about 3 minutes each side.
Alternatively, and I'm sure with the same rules in regards to pinkness, you can wrap the tuna steak in aluminum foil and broil or bake it. I've actually never made it this way but have had it like this with bread crumbs.
*IF YOU MAKE THIS WITH CHICKEN:
If you're insistent on frying, cutting the breast in half will cut down on cooking time. I recommend baking it instead and using italian seasoning in the aioli and chicken bullion in the rice. No bullion? You know that pink greasy stuff at the bottom of the styrofoam packet? Use that and a little salt Mix it!!! Unless you want clumps of chicken fat in yer rice. Preheat yer oven for 350, it should take 30-45 to cook and however long if takes yer oven to heat up so keep that in mind if you want everything to come out hot.
