Tuna Carpaccio and Memories of Croatia
On our recent trip to Croatia, Chief Recipe Taster and I stumbled upon a beautiful little restaurant in the Island of Korcula. We were walking along a promenade packed with restaurants and had just been talking about how, as a tourist, do you choose a restaurant when you are so spoiled for choice but have no prior knowledge the area?
In this case, the answer was obvious. As we approached Lesic-Dimitri a few things stood out. It was one of the smallest places we had seen and it was empty - usually a very bad sign, especially when the surrounding establishments were buzzing with patrons. However, Lesic-Dimitri had two things which really made me swoon... the tables were dressed with crisp white linen cloths and topped off with beautiful long stem wine glasses. Like a bird drawn to a shiny object I couldn't resist and thus proceeded one of the highlights of our trip.
As we sat we were warmly greeted by Drazen, the sommelier and head waiter who spoke with such confidence and passion about their local wine list we immediately agreed that if we chose our food he could choose the wine to match... and we were not disappointed.
Our meal started with crostini topped with red onion marmalade or white bean puree, to which Drazen matched an exceptional local Rose. Next came a sea-bass carpaccio dressed in a light olive oil and lemon dressing, expertly paired with a Posip Intrada 2008, a white wine from the peninsular opposite the island of Korcula. As we moved into the main courses of grilled lamb with yogurt dressing and a grilled pork salad with caramelized walnuts, the red wines were brought out to further dazzle us. One of the best reds I've ever had proved to be the headliner of the night, the Postup Mare 2006 - of which Drazen had only a handful of the last bottles left from this particular harvest.
We had been so impressed with the wines we had tried, that as a thank-you Drazen then brought out 3 new bottles of red and we finished the evening tasting these and listening to tales of that areas local wine production. We finished the evening satisfied and happy and left weighed down with bottles of Croatian wine, one of which was a present for being such 'enthusiastic dinners!'. As we wandered off, Lesic Dimitri had begun to fill with new patrons all vying for Drazen's attention, and I felt happy that we had managed to miss the rush and enjoy such an intimate introduction to Croatia's wine industry.
One of the bottles of wine we brought back to the UK was the Posip Intrada 2008, that we had enjoyed with the sea bass carpaccio. Last week while the sun shone brightly in London, I decided to pair this bottle of wine with a carpaccio of my own making. It was a wonderful combination for a summer afternoon, and would be lovely with any bottle of white wine you like!
Tuna Carpaccio with
Rice Vinegar
Sesame Oil
Juice of one large orange, with the left over flesh chopped into small chunks
Salad onions, thinly sliced
Fresh Tuna Steaks (preferably sashimi grade - however will work with any tuna steak as long as it is very fresh)
Black Pepper, to taste
(Important Note: you need to make this directly before eating as it needs to be served fresh and cold. Its a good idea to keep the tuna on ice for about 20 minutes before preparing)
Take a large empty plate or platter and dress with a couple of generous shakes each of the vinegar, oil and orange juice. The idea is that you want to lay the slices of tuna onto the already dressed plate or platter.
Slice the tuna into the thinnest slices you possibly can (you will need a very shape, flexible knife for this), and then arrange the slices onto the plate or platter. Dress the tuna once again with a couple of generous shakes each of the vinegar, oil and orange juice and top with the slices of salad onion, orange chunks and black pepper.
