a dish worth paying for

so i make/create a lot of things, and they 99.9% of the time are really good. i go through some trial and error, but on a rare occasion i make something completely generated from my mind in the moment and when its done and i have that first bite i think to myself, HOLY SHIT this is amazing.  i recently cooked dinner for myself and my mom and made a seared tuna lettuce wrap and honest to goodness thought to myself..this is restaurant worthy.  this is a $12 entree at a restaurant.  i created a simple dish, with fresh ingredients, with a complete spontaneous train of thought, and it turned out great, i hope my readers and followers will try it and i wont even charge you!

i got inspiration for this dish the minute i took out the most beautiful hearts of romaine lettuce from the fridge.  my mom must have picked the greenest and freshest bunch of lettuce and when she asked me to prepare a salad as a side to our tuna i knew that i couldn't crush these vibrant crunchy leaves, hence the lettuce wrap.  so here is where the journey begins..

Seared Tuna Lettuce Wrap
-8 oz of tuna will make about 4 lettuce wraps.  (it gets diced into bite size pieces and divided evenly among lettuce)
-salt and pepper
-hot hot hot skillet with a touch of EVOO
good quality tuna steaks BEG to be seared, trust me. they want it, they want their pink flesh to hit a hot pan more than a college senior wants to take home an 18 year old freshman from a bar at last call.. facts are facts.. season your tuna steak with salt and pepper and when your pan starts to smoke put your tuna steak on. DO NOT TAKE YOUR EYES OFF OF IT. once you see about 1/8 inch change to a darker color, flip your tuna and sear on the other side. same thing, 1/8 inch and remove from heat, set aside and continue on to preparing your wrap

so after i seared the tuna, i thought to myself, why not take everything i was going to use as salad toppings to make a fresh veggie salsa for the wrap, so i frantically gather and begin to chop..

Fresh Veggie Salsa - makes enough for 4 wraps, add more veggies for more wraps
-1/2 red bell pepper
-1/4 large red onion
-1/4 cucumber
-1 tomato
-1 large carrot shredded
keep in mind you want uniform sizes, and its a salsa, so the veggies should be a small dice.  toss with salt pepper and a little garlic powder.  I then chose to toss them in a homemade vinaigrette just for some added moisture, it is really easy to do
-2 tbs of mustard, (grainy mustard works best)
-2 splashes of vinegar, what ever on handy, i used red wine vinegar
and begin to whisk as you slowly add olive oil, when its all incorporated and begins to thicken its done!  emulsion is a crazy cool thing. toss the veggies

so now lets recap where we are.. plate.. lettuce leaves waiting to be filled, seared tuna, and now salsa.  but wait, i could not stop.  i needed to add more to this wrap.  and it hits me, i need sour cream.  but i am on an ever continuing diet, so i decide that plain greek yogurt will do the trick.  but plain is boring, so i added a generous pinch of paprika and cumin to give it a smokey and tangy flavor. like a well trained construction worker of all things food, it is time to build. on the bottom is my seared tuna that i have diced into bite size chunks, each chunk has a little of the seared crust on the outside with the bright pink fish in contrast.  i then topped that with the veggie salsa, which adds some crunch and sweet and spicy from the pepper and mustard and then dollop the greek yogurt on top of it all, which is tangy and smokey and just really makes this dish amazing.

i hope you enjoy this recipe, it really can pass as something so gourmet, but it was so easy to make.  until next time, eat laugh love and enjoy!