WAISEA NASOKIA
DENARAU ISLAND

There is no love more sincere than the love of food,” Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw once said.
Judging by the amount of amazing menus out there today, he was right.
This week brings you another fusion of French and modern Australian cuisine presentation – Grilled yellow fin tuna, with spaghetti, garlic and tomato concasse, avocado salsa and fresh herb mayonnaise at Radisson BLU Resort on Denarau Island, Nadi.
The Resort’s executive chef, Jacques Prouchandy, said, “Basically, I just wanted to use some of my favourite food items that I personally like.”
“I wanted to put it together for the larger audience, simple but coherent.
Originally from New Caledonia but born to French and Vietnamese parents, having resided in Australia and Canada due to his profession gave him a sort of cosmopolitan mindset.
He said there is a simple make up behind this dish – A combination of sweetness of tomato, lime, with richness of mayonnaise, avocado and the freshness of herbs.
“I love pasta sauce and pasta all together, so I thought of combining a simple pasta dish with fresh tuna steak but with a twist of something fresh like a salsa combined with the richness of mayonnaise but refreshed with fresh herbs,” he added.
Meanwhile, the resort encloses four restaurants mainly Blu Restaurant and Bar, Water Court, Cross restaurants and Neptunes.

Ingredients
– 180 g fresh yellow fin tuna steak
– 200 g canned tomato concasse
– Half an avocado diced into half cm
cubes
– 15 ml olive oil
– 20 ml white wine
– 50 g mayonnaise
– 1 g chopped parsley
– 1 g chopped dill
– 10 g finely diced tomato
– 80 g finely diced white onion
– 5 g crushed garlic
– 5 ml lime juice
– g grounded cumin
– 100 g cooked thin spaghetti
– Half a fresh lime
– Salt and pepper to taste

Method
– Heat some lightly salted water in a medium pot.

For the pasta sauce
– In a hot pan sauté half of the diced onion and a ping of mixed herbs
– Cook until the onion is translucent
– Add the tomato concasse and the white wine and cook for 10 minutes on low heat
– Add the garlic and cook until reducing by half
– Season well and set aside

Cooking the pasta
– When the water is boiling add the spaghetti to the water and cook until al dente (around 7 – 8 minutes)
– Drain and add a little olive oil to avoid pasta sticking together

For the salsa
– In a clean bowl add the avocado
– The chopped coriander
– The diced tomato and the rest of the onions
– Season with salt and pepper and the cumin
– Add the lime juice and a little olive oil
– Mix well with a spoon do not mush

For the mayonnaise
– Place the mayonnaise into a bowl
– Add the chopped fresh herbs
– Add a little milk
– Stir well and set aside

Cooking the tuna
– In a hot skillet
– Grill the oiled tuna steak 2 minute on each side season and set aside. The tuna should be pink in the middle

To plate
– Reheat the sauce briefly
– Add the warm spaghetti and toss well until well covered with sauce and warm

In the centre of a plate
– Place the pasta in a mount
– Place the cooked tuna on an angle on top of the pasta
– Add the fresh avocado salsa over the tuna
– Drizzle a little olive oil over the salsa
– Spoon sauce mayonnaise dressing around the dish
– Garnish with shredded carrots and fresh basil leaves
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