Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands by Kara Zuaro.
Crooked Fingers
from Eric Bachmann
When I think back to some of the happiest times of my life, I can hear Eric Bachmann's music playing in the background. His old band, Archers of Loaf, was the car stereo soundtrack to many nights of sipping Slurpees with my best friends in high school. When Archers disbanded, Eric started Crooked Fingers — named for his grandfather's CB handle — and my boyfriend, Pete, played me their first record on our first date. On our first vacation together, we found that our North Carolinian pals were also big Archers of Loaf fans and had actually been to their last show ever. In the dark, junkyard-like backyard of their crappy local bar, they broke out into an a cappella version of "Web in Front," which remains the most joyful, punk rock thing I've ever heard. In that moment, I felt so lucky that my life was happening to me.
But, because I'm a bit of a pessimist, I really hoped I'd never meet Eric Bachmann. I feared that no mortal man could measure up to his music and all the memories I had tied up in it. So, when we saw him standing around at SXSW (Austin's springtime indie rock fest), Pete literally had to push me to talk to him about the cookbook. Turns out, Eric has worked in restaurants all his life. He loves to cook, and he mentioned this seared tuna dish, which, by the way, is ridiculously easy to make and very impressive. When he emailed me the recipe, it came with a note that said, "Thanks for allowing me to be a part of your project . . . it's a real honor." The pleasure is all mine.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 2 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
1. Make white rice according to the directions on the package . . . Set aside . . .
Step 2
2. Roast the red pepper. (To do this, remove the burner on a gas stove and hold the pepper with tongs over the open flame until its skin blackens — and open your windows to let out the fumes. If you don't have a gas stove, fire up your broiler, cut the pepper in half, and place it skin-side up on a cookie sheet under the broiler. Once the skin is black, let it cool.) Set aside . . .
Step 3
3. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to a pan, and sauté spinach with a little fresh minced garlic and some white wine vinegar . . .
Step 4
4. Towel-dry cooked spinach (so that when you add it to the rice, the moisture in the cooked spinach doesn't make the rice sticky) . . . set aside to let the spinach dry further . . .
Step 5
5. Cut up the roasted red pepper into bite-sized pieces and add to rice . . .
Step 6
6. Add spinach to the rice and fluff the rice, mixing the red pepper, rice, and spinach into an attractive pilaf . . . set aside . . . on a low burner if you'd like to keep it warm . . .keep an eye on it so it doesn't overcook or scorch . . .
Step 7
7. Pour about 1/4 cup of coconut milk into a sauté pan . . .
Step 8
8. Add equal parts sugar and wasabi powder (around two or three tablespoons each . . . whatever your taste) to the coconut milk as you gradually increase heat to allow the sugar and wasabi to melt into the coconut milk . . . be careful not to scorch . . . set aside . . . over low heat to keep warm . . . careful not to let the sauce break up . . . not too much heat . . .
Step 9
9. Over high heat . . . in a cast-iron skillet . . . with a touch of olive oil if you like . . . pan-sear the tuna . . . rare . . . or to your liking . . .
Step 10
10. Put the rice pilaf onto a plate . . . put the tuna on top of the rice . . . and ladle some of the wasabi-coconut sauce over the tuna . . . shredded coconut makes a nice garnish on this one . . . as does parsley.
