November 06, 2007
Sous Vide Tuna Tacos

Don't be fooled by the highfalutin' sous vide. This is actually a quick and easy weeknight dinner. I came up with the idea when I saw some lovely local albacore tuna at Whole Foods at $8.99 a pound, half the price of the regular tuna, and thought it would do well low and slow in some oil. And it did.

Tuna: Sprinkle the tuna chunks (mine were about 1 ½ to 2 inches thick) with salt, pepper, and ground cumin, and bag them with some whole coriander seeds and olive oil. Cook them in a 50° Celsius water bath for 20 minutes, or less if your chunks are thinner than mine.

Pickled Red Onions: Slice a red onion pole-to-pole and deposit in a glass jar. Set to boil in a small pan some apple cider vinegar, water (about equal to the amount of vinegar), salt (a nice fistful), sugar (generous, but not as much as the salt), and whole cumin, coriander, and pepper. When at a boil, pour the vinegar mixture into the jar until the onions are covered and cap the jar. Half an hour later, voila, pickled onions.

Red Cabbage: To prepare the cabbage for the tacos, shred it finely and toss with a generous amount of salt. Let rest in a colander for half an hour until it's slightly deflated but still crisp-tender.

You'll also need some fresh tortillas, avocado, cilantro, and maybe some roasted salsa verde from the store. Assemble and enjoy. Mmmmm!