Name: Basil Infused Tuna
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 46 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Australian Recipes by Professional Chefs,French Recipes,Fusion Recipes,Modern Cuisine Recipes
Ingredients: bunches basil leaves: 2; pieces yellowfin tuna loin sea salt: 4 x 100 grams; freshly ground pepper; red coral lettuce: 1/4; green coral lettuce: 1/4; sprigs chervil: 4; soy sauce: 50 millilitres; limes : 2; pickled ginger juice: 30 millilitres; yellow mustard seeds: 2 teaspoons; olive oil: 375 millilitres

Features:

Cuisine:

This steamed tuna recipe dubbed basil infused tuna is the signature dish of French-born Michelin star Chef Guillaume Brahimi.

46 min
Serves 4
Medium

Ingredients

2 bunches basil leaves
4 x 100 grams pieces yellowfin tuna loin sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1/4 red coral lettuce
torn into small pieces
1/4 green coral lettuce
torn into small pieces
4 sprigs chervil
Mustard Seed and Soy Vinaigrette
50 millilitres soy sauce
2 limes
juice only
30 millilitres pickled ginger juice
drained from pickled ginger
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
375 millilitres olive oil

Directions

Only sashimi-grade Yellowfin tuna will do for my signature dish. If your fishmonger can’t deliver, shop around somewhere else or put the recipe on the backburner for another day.

Mustard Seed and Soy Vinaigrette

Combine the soy sauce, lime juice, ginger juice and mustard seeds in a large glass bowl.
Slowly add the olive oil, whisking continuously, until combined.
Place the vinaigrette in the fridge to infuse for 2 hours.

Basil

Blanch the basil leaves in a saucepan of boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into a bowl of iced water.
Remove and drain, then gently pat dry between two clean tea towels.

How to Prepare the Tuna

Place the tuna on a length of plastic film and season with salt and pepper.
Cover each piece of tuna with the blanched basil, stretching the leaves over the top and overlapping a little down the sides so that no part of the tuna is left exposed.
Turn over and repeat on the other side, until the tuna is completely covered by the basil.
Tightly wrap each piece in the plastic film.

Garnish

Toss the coral lettuce in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and arrange on the serving plate.

Final Preparation & Plating

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the wrapped tuna.
Remove from the pan after just 30 seconds and gently unwrap the plastic film.
Slice the tuna on the diagonal, then dip into the bowl of reserved vinaigrette to cover completely.
Take out straight away and arrange on the lettuce.
Sprinkle the tuna with salt, place the leaf of one chervil on one half of each plate and serve.

This recipe, together with other delicious recipes, can be found in the cookbook Food for Friends by Guillaume Brahimi.

Guillaume Brahimi

French-born Guillaume Brahimi is one of Australia's most popular and acclaimed chefs. He trained under Michelin-starred chef Joel Robuchon in Paris before moving to Sydney in the 1990s. In late 2001, Guillaume won the prestigious contract to take over the flagship restaurant at the Sydney Opera House, Bennelong, and, after a refurbishment, opened this spectacular venue in November 2001 as Guillaume at Bennelong. The restaurant went on to win almost every major accolade in Australian food, as well as international recognition. It was named by Conde Nast Traveller as one of the top 50 new restaurants in the world and by 2003 held Two Chef Hats in the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide as well as its Best New Restaurant and Australian Gourmet Traveller Restaurant of the Year and is currently ranked 11th restaurant in Australian Gourmet Traveller’s Top 100. In 2013, Guillaume and his team regained their three- hat status in the 2014 Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide, and Guillaume was awarded Vittoria Legend Award for his outstanding long- term contribution to the restaurant industry. Guillaume at Bennelong had its last service on New Year’s Eve 2013 and Brahimi and his acclaimed team will open their new restaurant, Guillaume, in June 2014. Located in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs in Paddington, in the historic former site of Darcy’s restaurant, guillaume will continue the high standard of service and food they became renowned for in their 12 years at Bennelong. In 2009 Guillaume formed a partnership with Crown Entertainment Complex (Melbourne) and open Bistro Guillaume. The restaurant won Best New Restaurant in both the Gourmet Traveller 2009 Restaurant Guide and The Age Good Food Guide and has held one hat since 2012. In September 2012, Guillaume opened his second Bistro Guillaume in Crown Perth, which also won one hat in 2013. Guillaume’s partnership with Crown Melbourne developed further in 2013 when he was appointed Culinary Director for the next three years, alongside Neil Perry. In 2010, Guillaume authored his first book, Guillaume: Food for Friends, and in 2012 published his second book, French Food Safari, a celebration of the incredible breadth and diversity of French food traditions that was also a television series on SBS. Guillaume is the ambassador for Samsung Electronics Australia and Tefal. Guillaume’s collaboration with Samsung Electronics sees him showcase its range of home appliances in Australia and appear as the face of its new built-in cooking range. As ambassador for Tefal, Guillaume has launched its new Heritage Cookware range and asserted the brands high performance cooking credentials. Guillaume is also renowned for his huge commitment to several charities. He is an active board member of The Chris O’Brien Lifehouse and the Bestest Foundation, and also participated in the 2013 Sydney to Hobart aboard the Perpetual Loyal Foundation yacht, which raised a significant amount for charity.