Cemitas
Kay Chun
120 ratings with an average rating of 3 out of 5 stars
120
35 minutes
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Make aioli: Combine egg yolks, lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, garlic and salt in a food processor. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream through the feed tube until all the oil is absorbed and the mixture has the consistency of mayonnaise. Add pepper and mix 10 seconds. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate.
Combine 4 cups water, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf and peppercorns in a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add the tuna pieces and simmer until they are barely cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Remove the cooked tuna from the cooking liquid to a bowl using a slotted spoon. While the fish is still warm, flake it into small pieces with a fork or your fingers. (The fish firms up as it cools and will not flake as nicely.) Cover loosely and let cool.
Crush the fennel seeds between two sheets of waxed paper; dry fry in a small skillet until fragrant. Place in large bowl; add ½ cup aioli, the red and yellow peppers, onion, herbs and salt and set aside.
Mix the flaked tuna into the fennel mixture. Combine well and taste for seasonings, adding salt, pepper and lemon juice as needed. (The tuna salad can be made ahead to this point without the herbs and refrigerated until the next day; stir in the herbs just before using.)
Spread a slice of sourdough bread with the aioli, then with a spoonful of the tuna salad. Top with a few leaves of the arugula and one slice of bacon. Repeat with a second slice of sourdough. Stack one layer on top of another and finish by topping with a third slice of sourdough. Repeat to make three more club sandwiches. Slice each sandwich into halves or thirds and secure each piece with a toothpick.
Ok, I cheated. I used good canned tuna and fresh chopped celery and all the rest was the same. Still delicious
Fresh tuna is a mainstay on HI. where most of us enjoy it as poke. This recipe is close to my variant for a sandwich. However, I poach it briefly in a light olive oil at a very, very low temperature (about 120F). That leaves the tuna delicately flaky and, more importantly, moist. The oil also adds a richness to the resulting dish that is often missing from a water. or broth poach. Try it, you'll never go back.
The simple sandwich contained in this recipe is worth noting: Canned tuna, mayo, with the bacon, herbs, and veg and two not three slices of bread shoud work for time pressured situations.
Thank God for canned Tuna.
OK.Meh.I used the highest quality tuna, oil, every ingredient organic, fresh baked sourdough...It was ok. C+
“You know who invented the middle slice? Enemies of freedom. Their mission? Sap our will to live by ruining our sandwich experiences through ‘tectonic slide.'” Anyone that's ever had a club sandwich will understand what he meant by this but people still seem to put up with it all the same.” -Anthony Bourdain
Wonderful! Will make this again. So good I ordered the Union Square Cafe's cookbook.
@Alex, if you use canned, do not poach.
This is the most helpful comment I've ever read on the NY Times page.
I have, like the perfect martini, done away with the bread, the mayo, and all sundry accessories. A can opener and a fork for my Starkist.
I poach the fresh tuna in olive oil as my friend Tony's Italian mother did. To die for.
•poach tuna briefly in a light olive oil at a very, very low temperature (about 120F). That leaves the tuna delicately flaky and, more importantly, moist •skip 3rd slice of bread
The lemon pepper aioli is worth the recipe!!
I can't imagine this with canned tuna. We made it with Aldi's frozen ahi tuna and it was delicious. Only changes were eliminating the fennel and herbs and using baby romaine instead of arugula. Next time I would cut back the aioli by half (or so). Bacon is a key component as it really good bread.
I trust Julia Reed with my taste buds. She's never let me down. This is a really good sandwich-two slices of toasted, home made bread. Heavenly.
Delicious tuna! Aioli was easy in the food processor. I didn't have fresh garlic so I substituted 1/2 cup olive oil with garlic olive oil. I poached the tuna as recipe states. I didn't add the fennel or herbs in the tuna salad as I was looking for a little more traditional tuna salad. Served with homemade toasted sourdough bread, slathered with the aioli. My husband loves tuna sandwiches and he said this was the best!
“You know who invented the middle slice? Enemies of freedom. Their mission? Sap our will to live by ruining our sandwich experiences through ‘tectonic slide.'” Anyone that's ever had a club sandwich will understand what he meant by this but people still seem to put up with it all the same.” -Anthony Bourdain
This is the most helpful comment I've ever read on the NY Times page.
I'm excited to give this a vegan shot! (While I realize it may never attain to that true "tuna" taste...I'm still ready to give it a go!
Way too much work! Sad! It takes 45 minutes to make a sandwich that will probably be devoured in less than 10 minutes!
For a sandwich or salad on lettuce, mix: 1 large can white albacore tuna 1 crisp apple chopped, 2-3 ribs chop celery choppedleaves 2 Tbsp French's mustard 1/4 - 1/2 C. Hellman's mayonnaise, (or more if needed), 1 chopped dill pickle with a little juice poured into the tuna mix Juice of 1 lemon Salt and pepper to taste. Know this is simple, but I have been serving this for a quick sandwich or salad lunch on a bed of lettuce since my mother made it in the 1950's. Add Fritos or saltines.
This is SOOOOO much more work than Rachael Ray's Tuna Pan Bagnat and way more caloric. I will probably try it at some point, but if you don't know about this mediterranean take on a poached fresh tuna sandwich you are missing out.
add some sweet relish and diced red onion to tuna salad
Those of us from the south know Duke's mayo is the best available short of homemade. If short of time using oil-packed tuna is second to poached fresh, but still can't compare to fresh. I like sweet pickle relish and onion in tuna salad, but to each her own.
While I LOVE the different recipes from the NYT, personally, I'm a purist when it comes to tuna salad - tuna, mayo, squeeze of lemon, S/P. Sometimes I'll make a grilled cheese & tuna sandwich (like the one served at Jackson Hole, NYC). Anything else added & it just ain't a tuna sandwich, but for those of you willing to do the work - bon appetite!
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