Seared Albacore And Peaches With Quinoa Haricots Verts And Pistou Recipes

SEARED ALBACORE AND PEACHES WITH QUINOA, HARICOTS VERTS AND PISTOU

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan, combine quinoa with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until all the water is absorbed, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add olive oil, and toss to mix. Cover and keep warm.
• Place a large pot of lightly salted water over high heat to bring to a boil. Set aside a large bowl filled with water and ice.
• Add haricots verts to boiling water and blanch just until bright green, about 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out beans (reserving boiling water) and transfer to ice water to chill. Using the slotted spoon, transfer beans to a colander (reserving ice water) and drain.
• Add basil, parsley and tarragon to boiling water. Blanch 2 minutes, then drain and transfer to ice water to chill. Drain again. Place herbs in a kitchen towel and roll gently to remove excess water. Chop coarsely and place in a blender. Add garlic and 1/2 cup grapeseed oil. Blend until very smooth. Place haricot verts in a bowl, and toss with 2 tablespoons of the herb purée (known as pistou) and lemon juice to taste, reserving remaining pistou and juice.
• Place a large sauté pan over medium heat, and add 1/4 cup grapeseed oil. Sear peaches, cut sides down, until caramelized and golden brown, about 3 minutes, then remove from heat and set aside. Clean pan and return to high heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil. Season tuna with salt and pepper to taste. Add to pan and sear sides and edges so the center remains raw, 30 seconds to 1 minute each side, pressing tuna against side of pan to sear edges. Remove from heat, slice thinly, and season with lemon juice and salt to taste.
• To serve, spread quinoa across 4 serving plates. Top with haricot verts mixture. Arrange peach halves on top. Fan the sliced tuna on the plates, and garnish with pistou as desired.

PERFECT HARICOTS VERTS

Steps:

• Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil over medium heat. Set up a bowl of ice water and season it generously with salt.
• Add the beans to the boiling water and cook them until they are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Bite a bean to be sure they are properly cooked. Put them immediately in the bowl of salted ice water to stop the cooking or to "shock" them. When they are cold, remove them from the water and let them dry a little.
• Coat a large saute pan with both clarified butter and olive oil. Bring the pan to a medium-high heat, add the shallots and brown. Add the haricot vert, season with salt and saute until all the beans are coated with oil and hot. Serve immediately or later at room temperature.

HARICOT VERT AND RED-ONION SALAD WITH PISTOU

Steps:

• Make pistou:
• Purée all pistou ingredients in a food processor until basil is finely chopped.
• Make salad:
• Soak onion in cold water 15 minutes, then drain in a colander and pat dry.
• While onion soaks, cook beans in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 6 minutes, then drain in a large colander. Transfer to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain again and pat dry.
• Toss beans and onion with pistou. Season with salt and pepper.

SEARED HALIBUT WITH HARICOTS VERTS, SCALLIONS, AND WHITE WINE SAUCE

Steps:

• In a pot of boiling salted water set over high heat, cook the haricots verts for 3 to 4 minutes, until tender. Drain and place them in the center of a large, warm serving platter. Cover and keep warm.
• Season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper. In a 12-inch saute pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Cook the fish for about 3 minutes, until lightly browned. Turn, reduce the heat to medium, and cook about 4 minutes longer, until the fish is opaque in the center and browned on both sides. Put the fish on the platter with the beans and cover to keep warm.
• Pour off any oil in the pan and add the wine and lemon juice. Raise the heat to high and deglaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon. Cook until the sauce reduces by half, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and stir in the butter, a piece at a time, to enrich and flavor the sauce. Add the scallions, capers, and tomato. Season with salt and pepper, and pour over the fish on the platter. Serve immediately.