FOOD + DRINK
AN ALTERNATIVE KENTISH YULE CONT .
Tuna Wellington Recipe by : Richard Kirkwood & Andy Roberts , Fish Union , Chislehurst www . fishunion . co . uk
This mouth-watering tuna wellington is the perfect alternative main event for your Christmas feast . It ’ s delicious served with buttered Vichy carrots , tenderstem broccoli , creamy mashed potato and our shellfish gravy .
Serves : 4 Ingredients :
• 600g ‘ bar ’ of yellowfin tuna ( you can buy this from our fish counter !)
• 2 nori seaweed sheets
• 500g block of puff pastry
• Flour for dusting
• 2 eggs for egg wash
• 100g of fermented honey ( good quality local honey will do instead )
For the mushroom puree :
• 150g butter
• 1kg chestnut mushrooms , blitzed fine in a food processor
• 1 shallot , finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic , minced
• 20g rosemary , finely chopped
• 75g puy lentils , pre-cooked
Method :
1 . For the puree , melt the butter in a thick bottomed saute pan , add the shallots , garlic and rosemary and cook until soft . Add the blitzed mushrooms and cook until all the moisture has evaporated . It is important for the finished dish that the puree is as dry as possible . When dry , add in the lentils and cook until well combined , set aside .
2 . Season the tuna and fry very quickly ( 10 seconds on each side should do it ) in a hot frying pan on all sides and both ends to sear it .
3 . Lay out a thick square of cling film about 30cm square and place the sheets of nori seaweed so they overlap . Spread thinly with the mushroom and lentil puree and place the tuna at the bottom of the nori .
4 . Now it ' s time to roll with it ! Take hold of the cling film at the back and slowly wrap the nori and puree over the tuna to make a log . The nori should fully enclose the tuna . Seal the ends of the cling film and place in the fridge for 1-2 hours until set .
5 . Whisk up the two eggs for the egg wash and set aside .
6 . Lightly flour the table top and lay out the puff pastry . Roll out the pastry to 5mm thickness , ensuring that the pastry is much larger than the tuna log .
7 . Remove the tuna from the cling film and place in the centre of the pastry , egg wash all sides and slowly fold over to wrap the tuna , trim off any excess pastry and leave to chill for 1 hour .
8 . Adding a lattice is optional , but it does make for a show-stopping dish ! If you do want to add a lattice , roll out any extra pastry so it is the length of the tuna roll and apply the specialised pastry cutter to create the lattice . Then , egg wash the log and place the lattice over the top .
9 . To cook the Wellington , place in a preheated oven at 180 º C for 25 minutes , or until the pastry has turned golden brown . Leave to rest for 8 minutes before carving into slices and enjoy !
Top tip :
Save yourself time by preparing both the lentils and the tuna the day before ahead of your guests arriving .
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