I have a soft spot for the Earls Tin Palace of my teenagehood, the hip new restaurant that opened up on 4th St just in time for the ’88 Winter Olympics, when I was 17 and just starting to go out with my friends for cheese sticks, potato skins and mocha Kahlúa pie. Where we’d go as a family when we ate out, and which was gutted by mud and rebuilt after the 2013 floods. Lately we’ve been going for happy hour – for $3 sleeves of draught, half price wine and $2 tuna tostadas. This week they launched a new series of cooking videos – with recipes – and asked me to check out the first (tuna tostadas!) and give it a go at home. It’s not the sort of thing I normally make, which is part of the reason I was happy to give them a try.

There are enough elements in this recipe to dissuade the average home cook, but each is a breeze to pull together – and a few of them have shortcuts you can take.

I do love cooking my own corn tortillas – it’s super satisfying to cut a stack of fresh ones into wedges and quickly fry them in half an inch of oil – all you need is a small skillet, not a deep fryer. As they turn golden, transfer them with tongs to a paper towel-lined plate and shower them with salt. Once you’ve done this, you’ll recognize the difference between warm, homemade tortillas and the packaged bagged kind, and will come up with excuses to make them all the time. (Try them doused in cinnamon sugar while they’re still warm, instead of salt! You can also cut them into strips to crisp up and scatter over soup or chili – and one package of tortillas goes a long way.)

I almost skipped the charring of the peppers to make my own aioli and went with the jar of salsa verde on my shelf instead (not really the same thing, I know) – but jalapeños and poblanos are easy to find, and if you have a gas stove you can hold them with tongs over the open flame as they bubble and make campfire sounds until they’re nice and charred, then remove the innards and toss into a food processor with tons of cilantro, garlic and olive oil. I added the mayo straight to the mix as well, and a squeeze of lime. It’s amazing – perhaps my favourite part of this whole thing – and I can’t wait to taste it again tomorrow, when its had some time to hang out in the fridge and evolve a bit.

And the tuna! So easy. The recipe calls for a tuna loin, but I picked up a couple ahi tuna steaks that did the job just fine. You blanch them in a small saucepan of simmering water for 10 seconds, pat them dry with paper towel, then douse in a simple spice blend (if you don’t have all the fancy chili powders, just use straight up chili powder, or chili powder and cumin, along with the coriander and salt. Or whatever spice blend (they suggest Cajun) you think would taste good) and cut into slices. So easy, and yet it looks like something you’d get in a restaurant.

The jicama slaw is simple too – thinly julienne, then toss with a bit of fish sauce and sugar and lime – or again, whatever you think would taste good. Cabbage would probably work just as well, although I love the watery crunch of jicama. (If you’re in town, I found all the ingredients, from fresh ahi tuna to locally-made fresh corn tortillas to jicama – at Calgary Co-op.)

It should be noted that all of these elements can be done ahead and stashed away until you’re ready to assemble them. And it’s satisfying to lay out a row of crisp tortillas you made yourself, and top them with aioli (also homemade, natch), avocado, tuna, slaw, and a bit of radish and cilantro – I skipped the thin slices of pickled pepper.

If you want to see it all come together in a few minutes, Chef Ryan Stone shows us how it’s done in a truly great, well shot and edited video with added graphic tips that I love – there are more to come, but since mocha Kahlúa pie is long since off the menu, I’ll have to figure that one out for myself.

Earls Tuna Tostadas

AuthorJulie

Adapted slightly from a recipe by Chef Dawn Doucette, Earls Chef Collective.

Yields1 Serving

Aioli:

1 jalapeño pepper

1 poblano pepper

3 garlic cloves

pinch salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

Rub:

1 Tbsp chile powder

1 Tbsp chipotle chile powder

1 Tbsp ancho chile powder

1 Tbsp ground coriander

1 Tbsp fine salt

Tuna:

5 oz (about 1/3 lb) albacore tuna loin

Jicama slaw:

1 piece jicama (Mexican turnip)

1 tsp fish sauce

1/4 tsp sugar

Juice of 1 lime

Tortillas:

5-10 small (6") white corn tortillas

Salt, to taste

Putting it all together:

1 radish, thinly sliced

1 pickled Fresno chili, thinly sliced (optional)

1/4 avocado, sliced

Cilantro, for garnish

Lime, for garnish

Roast the jalapeño and poblano peppers over high heat until the skin sides are fully charred. Using a sharp knife, cut them in half and remove the seeds and stems.

Add the peppers, garlic, salt, olive oil and cilantro to the blender and puree until smooth. Add the puree to the mayonnaise and stir until evenly combined. (Shortcut: If fresh peppers aren’t available, use a green jalapeño sauce such as Tabasco, or even some salsa verde.)

In a mixing bowl, whisk all the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. (Shortcut: substitute the spice rub with a pre-made Cajun spice mix.)

Cut the tuna loin in half lengthwise, then cut the halves into roughly 2-inch pieces.

Blanch each piece of tuna in boiling water for about 10 seconds, until the outside turns white. Then immediately transfer it to an ice bath. After about a minute, dab the tuna with a paper towel to remove excess moisture, then move it to the spice rub. Roll the tuna in the rub until thoroughly coated, then place it in the fridge.

Whisk the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar together until all the sugar is dissolved. Use either a mandolin or a vegetable peeler to finely slice the jicama, then julienne it with a sharp knife. Add the jicama to the lime mixture and store in the refrigerator for later use.

Cut the tortillas into quarters. Submerge the quarters in the deep fryer for 10-15 seconds before stirring with tongs. Cook until the pieces float and become crispy - approximately 2 minutes. Drain briefly, then toss in a bowl with seasoning. Shortcut: If you like, substitute store-bought tortilla chips for the fried tortillas.

Top each tostada with a dollop of the aioli, a thin slice of avocado, a slice of the spice-rubbed tuna, and a pinch of the lime-marinated jicama slaw. Garnish with a slice of radish, a couple sprigs of cilantro, and a slice of Fresno chili. Serve with lime pieces on the side.

Categoryappetizers, fish

Ingredients