Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients:
4 ea 6 oz yellowfin tuna steaks
1 tsp ea Three peppercorn: pink, white and black (ground slightly course)
12 oz Celery root, peeled and cut into ½” cubes
8 oz Heavy Cream
2 cups Escarole, washed well, cut into 1” ribbons
1 pounds Black beluga lentils
1 ea med white onion, cut in half
1 ea fennel bulb, cut in half top to bottom
1 ea celery stalk
1 head garlic
8 sprigs thyme
1 ea bay leaf
1 cup Assorted mushrooms
to taste Kosher salt
t.t. sea salt
2 tbs Lemon Olive oil
4 sprigs chervil
Preparation:
Celery root purée: cook cubes in cream until tender, strain off cream and reserve. Purée the celery root and add back cream for consistency. Reserve. This can be made ahead and reheated.
Roasted garlic: cooked in olive oil, with thyme. Barely simmer until cloves are tender, then let cool. Handle gently. This can be prepared far in advance. Submerged in oil this holds well for over a week.
Sautéed escarole: blanch, then sauté with roasted garlic, salt, and pepper.
Black beluga lentils: Sweat a mirepoix of carrots, leeks and fennel, add the lentils, 4 cloves of roasted garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and water to cover 1” above the lentils. Simmer until lentils are tender. Reseason, add more water if necessary, chill and reserve.
Mushrooms: sauté the mushrooms, season, and finish with fresh thyme.
Tuna: season with the peppercorns and kosher salt.
Prepare a grill, rub tuna with oil and grill tuna until medium rare.
Garnish with lemon oil, picked thyme leaves, picked chervil, and sea salt.
To plate: Use about 2 tbs of celery root puree for each plate. Combine the escarole with about 2T of lentils per plate and assemble over the celery root puree. Slice the tuna, then add the sautéed mushrooms. Garnish with the chervil, thyme, sea salt, and lemon oil.