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By Root 961 0

of pickled tunas that one sees in a Spanish market, I do not know. Knowledge of Spain, imports from Spain must surely increase. It seems we have taken tea and chips to Spain and not yet brought anything back. The big market in Barcelona was an extraordinary sight when at last a friend from Madrid took me round, explaining the unfamiliar sights on the fish stalls. Rationally I should have expected it, but no amount of reading and visiting fish markets elsewhere and eating fish on every occasion had prepared me for the strangeness, the abundant vigour, and those great slabs of tuna pickled in various ways, strange tawny colours of pink, looking reserved and a little dry and disapproving as the prawns escaped their boxes and crawled out of sight.

HOW TO PREPARE TUNA

Don’t be put off tuna because it has a disconcerting look of beef with extra dark patches. This can vary, but even in quite pale steaks there can be deep red streaks along the bone. Just cut them away, and discard them with the skin and bone. Another problem, although this does not apply to all species, is a general bloody look, something one does not have to deal with often in fish. American cooks are used to soaking tuna in brine, which clears it – dissolve about 125 g (4 oz) sea salt in 1 litre (1¾ pt) of water, put in the tuna and stand in the refrigerator for an hour or so.

Now you can poach, fry or grill it, depending on its quality. If you have not cooked tuna before, start off with a good sauce – try the recipe from the Château-Renault market (p. 431), or give it the treatment à l’américaine (p. 213). The Basque stew is the kind of dish most people enjoy. Or else cook it au poivre (p. 436). The thing is not to overcook tuna, but not to undercook it too much either. When it is done, it should still be very slightly pink at the centre. Be quite ruthless about piercing it with the point of a knife to see how it is getting on. You can always remove it, and let the sauce cook on by itself should it be necessary.

BASQUE TUNA AND POTATO STEW

This is a recipe with many variations; sometimes there are no tomatoes, sometimes there are not so many onions, and so on. The basic ingredients are tuna, garlic, olive oil and potatoes. If possible, cook this stew in a large shallow glazed earthenware dish, using a heat-diffuser with gas.

Serves 6

750g (1½ lb) tuna

2 large onions, sliced

4 cloves garlic, chopped

125 ml (4 fl oz) olive oil

6 or more potatoes, peeled

500 g (1 lb) tomatoes, peeled, chopped

4 sweet red peppers, seeded, sliced

salt, pepper

6 slices bread

Cut the tuna into chunks 2½–3½ cm (1–1½ inches) – discarding skin and bones. Cook the onion and garlic in the oil until lightly coloured. Add the potatoes, tomatoes and peppers, and cook them for about 15–20 minutes. Put in the tuna, making sure it is well embedded in the tomato stew. Simmer on top of the stove; keep a watch to see that the tuna does not overcook. Check the seasoning. The bread can be crumbled or cut into squares and added at the end of the cooking time or the slices can be toasted in the oven and put on top of the stew before serving.

CROSTINI DI TONNO FRESCO

A recipe for fresh, good quality tuna fish. Be sure to place the sage leaves next to it on the skewers for the full benefit of the flavour.

Serves 6

625g (1¼ lb) tuna

bread

small sage leaves

olive oil

salt, pepper

lemon juice

Cut the tuna into regular slices about the thickness of a finger, and divide the slices into squares. Cut an equal number of squares of bread, without crusts, of a similar size. Wash plenty of sage leaves.

Thread the tuna and bread on to six skewers, with sage leaves on either side of each piece of tuna. Half-leaves of bay can be substituted for some of the sage leaves.

Brush the skewers with olive oil, and season them. Grill at a very moderate temperature for about half an hour, brushing tuna and bread with oil whenever they begin to look in the least dry.

Squeeze lemon juice over them and serve.

THE CURÉ’S OMELETTE