thepassionatecook

Tuna teriyaki burgers

Gosh, I can't believe how long ago I made this burger... it's a real wonder I could still find the recipe in my bursting book of recipe notes! You'll have to excuse the photo, too, I blame it on being a rather impromptu dinner, otherwise I'd have to blame it on my lacking skills in the photography AND food styling departments ;-)

I'll have to say that the original idea for this burger is not mine, it's Tom Aikens'... for me this burger exemplifies the impressions I got from my visit to Tom's Kitchen - the menu seemed to consist of staple foods, but with a twist. Every casual restaurant has its burger (and most are horrible, ground meat scraps, cooked to shoe-sole consistency) - tuna burger is something you'd be hard-pressed to find in this country... sadly, although we're surrounded by the sea, great quality fish is not easy to come by, tuna being one of the worst offenders, I have to say, as most people simply don't know how to make it... ask the average person and they'll start explaining how to expertly open a can! And if they can't make it, they won't buy it, of course!

So if you can get your hands on good tuna, please do... you might prefer to eat your tuna au naturel, in a carpaccio, or quickly sear it to have with a refreshing summer salad - I won't be mad at you! But if you have some time on hand and want to try something different with tuna that will knock your socks off, do try this recipe: they're super tasty, low in calories and incredibly good for you! (You never thought you'd hear that in one sentence now, did you?)

Rhubarb & walnut muffins

Hello, my name is Johanna and I am a butter addict. Yep, that's right. Not even a recovering one, and not that I'd ever want to try to wean myself off it. Especially not since I've heard that my aversion to what was claimed to be the "healthy" alternative, margarine, is a sensible one since margarine is actually far worse than my beloved butter because it's full of nasty transfats that really play havoc with your cholesterol!

So I am not ashamed to say that I LOVE butter. If I had to choose just one thing that I needed to live on for the rest of my life, it would be freshly baked sourdough (preferrably my own) with sea salt butter - ok, that's two things, I guess, but for me, that's true heaven on earth. Another favourite way to have butter is beurre noisette - I love its nutty flavour and whenever we have a dinner party where the starter or main calls for some bread to go with, or if we're serving a cheese board after, I always make a point of browning said sea salt butter to serve alongside...  It's also funny how people then start to guess what it is an never quite get it... just like it happened to me when I had it for the first time. It's such a simple thing to do, yet absolutely divine!

Often when I bake and have a recipe that calls for melted butter, I tend to actually brown it first: it works a treat for financiers like these as well as the muffins I made on the weekend... a step so simple, yet it adds a flavour dimension that is absolutely amazing. This recipe is quite low on sugar, perfect for those who want a sweet treat, but not overly so...

So here you have it, by popular demand: the recipe for rhubarb & walnut muffins that so many of my facebook friends have requested, I hope you like them as much as my neighbours did ;-)

Seared scallops with lime & miso dressing on avocado purée

Simple pleasures are always the most satisfying in my opinion, they might not always win beauty contests or prizes for culinary innovation, but when the taste:effort ratio is as compelling as with this dish, I am most happy. I loved the creaminess of the avocado as a perfect complement to the buttery scallops - and the Asian-style dressing is a refreshing twist I should use more often... this is easily whipped together, so perfect for a weekday supper or a starter for a dinner party.

We enjoyed this with sourdough baguette, but I was really craving another accompaniment which would have been perfect: I had it a little while ago at Zuma, where they serve an absolutely amazing tuna & salmon tartare with lotus chips and that addictive sheet of a prawn cracker with seaweed... I am still salivating at the thought of it!