Tomato, Tonnato and Whack-a-Mole: a recipe from Celia Wakefield

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I've never been so happy to reach the end of a week, or to have my friend Celia here to send us all off with a tale and a delightful recipe. Thank you all for your best wishes for my recovery - the whole family, including my son Spencer, is here this weekend, so I'm in good hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wacka-Mole or have I reached retirement yet?

 

Good morning  JRW’s and all, Julia is graciously letting me offer you another strange recipe together with some current news.

 

My daughter, Olivia, and I usually speak in the late evening when she finally escapes from her work computer. Olivia is a great multitasker (how did she come by that gene?), prepping dinner for her and the male contingent in the house - which also includes the cat - while touching base with me. We review the day and catch up generally. Olivia and Ken were about to head out for a well-deserved vacation, which I hope will involve sun - yes, sand - probably, and fruit drinks with little umbrellas? Unwisely I asked if her desk was clear and went on to tell her my news which seemed to be a lot of crisis management over a short period of time. Her reply, 

“I call it Wacka-mole”, and we laughed. 

 

But how true is that? We start out with a list, then the phone, messages and email lights up with their own agenda and we are back in Wacka-mole. I can state in all honesty that all July has been W-a-M. July started with some health deteriorations for Victor, but things are now looking better and we have more help too. 

 

I triaged my papers last weekend as I often do. I clipped together a pile labelled Monday. I’m sure you’re not surprised to learn it’s Thursday as I write this and the pile is unanswered. Why? I’m retired! I should be playing golf, - no, the ball is too small – pickleball? Naw, too many friends with injuries. But whether gainfully employed or retired, the bills, statements, solicitations and correspondence continue to stream in. Faced with the ten year tax reassessment of property where we live, my week was upended. Our bad - we chose waterfront as there is nothing like a Maine lake for swimming - but the new value put on our house was nose bleed high. I do remember Victor did some work around the last reassessment but I was not very involved However this time I had to do the due diligence if we were going to get this number reevaluated,and hopefully reduced. Julia to the rescue with her Realtor sister, Barb Scheeler, pitching in to help me build a strong case and mail it in on time. I am so grateful to both of them. Now we wait. 

 

What else, oh yes two deaths two days apart in my family. I can’t leave for England to be with everyone for a couple of reasons, one of which is that my passport is out of date. In fact both my passports are expired but with the pandemic etc. I considered it was unlikely I would be traveling any time soon. Back to W-a-M, and add passport to the list. Family deaths when one is far away can be really hard and they involve lots of telephoning. I am grateful that one can make International calls by wifi, so as soon as one works out which country is asleep and which awake the rest is easy. 

 

The view from the home gym

I see I’ve ignored the elephant in the room. Julia and I are having knee surgery a month apart. It wasn’t planned that way but I got a date earlier than expected so right now workouts are my top priority, as we both want strong quads, glutes and other muscles for a solid recovery. Julia has gone first, but preparation has been done together and we even managed to get at least one workout a week in my home gym (my Peloton Tread and some weights. Very glamorous, though the view to the lake while walking can’t be beat). My goal is at least five workouts or Yoga with a walk and I am doing quite well considering. So with all of that I was glad to come across the perfect cold summer recipe and decided to share it with you even though the temperature outdoors is only 70 degrees F. today. 

 

This recipe has really taken my fancy and it came from the New Yorker magazine from Helen Rosner. Rosner has a fascinating story and I went straight into the weeds to check it out. Tuna sauce is a summer go to in Italy. I’ve made recipes for Veal Tonnato using turkey breasts well beaten into escallops instead of veal, but this was a new one for me. I’m looking forward to reading your thoughts on TOMATO TONNATOI.

 

 

 I made a couple of minor changes which I hope will improve it. My notes are in italics.

 

INGREDIENTS For the tonnato sauce:

 

1 tin (3-4 oz.) high-quality tuna packed in olive oil

Helen’s recipe states ‘or other fish’. I think the important piece is fish packed in olive oil. Most canned fish is smoked and will have added salt which would affect the flavor

1 tsp Anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet (original recipe)

My anchovy paste is GF and states 1teaspoon  = 2 anchovies - I used a teaspoon measure

1 C mayonnaise -I am using a very popular Japanese brand called Kewpie which is available on Amazon. I get it from a speciality place here which doesn’t do mail order. Please read the later notes.  

¼ C olive oil

Juice from ½ lemon (about 2-3 Tbsp.)

1 Tbsp. capers in brine, drained

2 cloves roasted garlic or 1 clove garlic, peeled - original recipe

I prefer to use roasted garlic as we don’t enjoy the sharp flavor of raw garlic

1 tsp. ice-cold water 

 

FOR SERVING:

 

2 lbs. fresh, firm, flavorful tomatoes

 

Kosher salt. (I shall not be dusting with salt but it will be available for others)

 

2 Tbsp. fresh basil leaves, roughly torn. Fresh-ground black pepper - I use salt and pepper sparingly and to taste

 

DIRECTIONS

Measure ingredients: Coat cup and spoon measures as needed with a little olive oil to prevent mayo sticking.

Combine the tomato ingredients (including the tuna oil), omitting the water, in a food processor, and blend well. Scrape down the sides then add the ice-cold water and blend briefly. The sauce will have a slightly glossy appearance. If the mixture feels too thick or lumpy, add more ice-cold water, 1 tsp. at a time, until the sauce is smooth. Be careful not to add too much water.

Transfer the tonnato sauce to a serving bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 3 days.

I did not have the opportunity to do a trial run on this recipe. It does appear straight forward and it is. However things happen and this is what I found. Checking the mixture BEFORE I added the cold water, I found that it was looser than I thought it should be. Julia and I decided that my Kewpie Japanese mayo is not as thick as regular Mayo such as Hellman’s which most people use. However Kewpie does have a delicious taste.

My fix was to add 3oz more tuna and omit the ice cold water which did improve the viscosity.

 

TO SERVE:

Prepare the tomatoes and wash if necessary.. Using a very sharp knife, slice tomatoes latitudinally into ½-inch rounds. On a serving platter, arrange a single layer of tomato slices, and dust sparingly with kosher salt (not used and not needed). Spoon about half the tonnato sauce over the tomatoes and  garnish with basil leaves and grinds of black pepper. 

It is hard to chop basil finely,  and not reduce it to a paste which is great for pesto but not sprinkling. I did tear some basil but I also placed whole leaves on top of the tuna mixture which made the whole dish smell wonderful so I shall go with whole leaves in the future.