Trey Foshee's Fish Tacos
Photo credit: Courtesy George’s at the Cove
Yahoo Food is a proud sponsor of Indie Chefs Week, a three-night dinner series in Costa Mesa, California celebrating America’s best up-and-coming chefs. Every day, we’ve featured one chef and his or her favorite recipe. And now we’re here! The first dinner is tonight, when we’ll pos photos of all the delicious dishes.
Who: Trey Foshee, chef and partner of George’s at the Cove in La Jolla, California. Foshee serves what he calls “California modern" food that makes the most of San Diego’s rich sea life.
Tool he can’t live without: A spoon. For tasting, for plating, for stirring, for…everything.
Ingredient he’s obsessed with: Chiles, which make appearances throughout his seasonally-driven menu.
His recipe: Yellowfin Tuna “Tacos” with Fried Avocado and Corn Nuts. They’re not exactly tacos: “It’s hard to explain,” says Foshee. “Just try it.”
“Fish Tacos”: Yellowfin tuna, fried avocado, and corn nuts
by Trey Foshee
Serves 6
10 oz. raw, sushi-grade tuna loin
3 limes, 2 juiced, 1 peeled and segmented
½ cup mayonnaise
1 serrano chili, minced
Salt
White pepper
1 cup pastry flour
¼ cup cornstarch
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 cup light beer
Grapeseed oil, for frying
2 avocados, sliced ¼”thick
¼ cup green cabbage, shaved very thin
½ cup corn nuts, crushed
1/8 cup cilantro
Slice the tuna loin crosswise into 18 thin slices. Lay each slice between two pieces of plastic wrap and gently pound to 1/8 inch thick. Using a round, 2-inch cookie cutter, cut circles in the tuna, reserving the scraps. Refrigerate until ready to plate.
In a bowl, combine lime juice, mayonnaise, and chili. Season with salt and white pepper and reserve.
Mix pastry flour, cornstarch, and baking powder in another large bowl. Whisk in the beer until just combined. Let sit 15 minutes before using.
Heat oil to 350 degrees F. Dip avocado slices in beer batter and fry until golden. Remove and drain on paper towels, salting immediately.
To plate, mince the tuna scraps and mix with shaved cabbage and lime mayonnaise. Place most of the crushed corn nuts on a small sheet pan. Remove the tuna circles from the plastic wrap and place on top of the corn nuts to adhere them. Fill each tuna circle with a small scoop of the tuna-cabbage mixture and carefully fold the tuna up and into a taco shape.
On each plate, sprinkle a bit of corn nuts down the center of the plate. Place a fried avocado on the plate and lay a taco against it, then place two more tacos and one more avocado. Garnish with little dabs of the mayo, lime segments, and cilantro.
