Coriander-Crusted Albacore Tuna with Spicy Buckwheat Noodle Salad

Varietal: Gewürztraminer

Serves 6 as an appetizer; 4 as a main course

Although we usually think of albacore as one variety of tuna in a can (as in the photo above), it’s also one of the Northwest’s great summertime fresh finfish catches–inexpensive, in good supply, and sustainable. With bold flavors from the albacore, buckwheat noodles, and grated fresh veggies, this recipe makes a lovely appetizer or luncheon dish. It comes from Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and demonstrates the merging of Asian ingredients with Western cuisine that is such a calling card of Pacific Northwest Cuisine. The perfect wine pairing

Spicy Buckwheat Noodle Salad

1/3 cup grated carrot

1/3 cup grated celery 1/3 cup grated turnip or daikon radish

1/4 cup minced red onion 1/4 cup homemade or store-bought mayonnaise (Best Foods or Hellmann’s brand recommended)

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons minced green onions (white and light white parts only)

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons minced jalapeño pepper, seeds and membranes removed

4 ounces cooked Japanese soba noodles (see Cook’s Hint, below)

Coriander-Crusted Albacore Tuna

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

12 to 14 ounces albacore tuna loin, chilled

1/4 cup safflower oil

Edible flowers, such as calendulas, nasturtiums, or begonia petals, for garnish (optional)

1. At least an hour before you plan to serve, prepare the Spicy Buckwheat Noodle Salad. Place the carrot, celery, turnip, onion, mayonnaise, sour cream, ginger, garlic, green onions, soy sauce, and jalapeño in a medium bowl and mix well.

2. Add the noodles and gently mix until well coated with the sauce and the vegetables are distributed throughout. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

3. To prepare the tuna, place the coriander, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and mix well. Slice the chilled tuna in half lengthwise to form two cylinders of tuna.

4. Rub the spice mixture onto the round portion (not the ends) of the tuna pieces, being sure to spread it evenly on all sides.

5. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil just begins to smoke, carefully add the tuna pieces and sear for 2 minutes on each side. The tuna should be opaque on the outside, but still raw on the inside; lower the heat if the tuna starts to brown too quickly.

6. Transfer the tuna to a plate, cover, and refrigerate for a minimum of 30 minutes and up to 1 day.

7. When ready to serve, decoratively mound some of the noodle salad on each of 4 or 6 serving plates. Cut the chilled tuna into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange on top of the noodles. If desired, garnish with edible flowers.

Cook’s Hint: Japanese soba noodles are made from buckwheat and wheat flour, and are dark, brownish-gray in color. They are available in Asian markets and some grocery stores. To cook them, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until al dente, stirring occasionally. Rinse them in cool water and drain well before using. If not using immediately, spray with nonstick olive-oil spray and toss gently, or toss with a teaspoon or two of canola oil to keep the noodles from sticking together. If soba noodles are unavailable, the seared tuna also works well when served on a bed of steamed rice, couscous, or salad greens. Or try cutting leftover tuna into small cubes and using as a soup garnish or mixing it with pickled beets, walnuts, and feta cheese for a main-dish salad.

Recipe reprinted from Pacific Northwest Wining & Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia (Wiley, $34.95) by Braiden Rex-Johnson.

Union’s daily Happy Hour is one of the happiest deals in town, for sure. Available from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and from 10:00 p.m. to midnight (with drink specials until closing time), the restaurant at the corner of First Avenue and Union Street offers some real deals.

Pictured above is the Panzanella–Fennel, Apple, and Smoked Bacon Bread Salad ($6).

Below is the Spaghetti with Veal Meatballs, Tomato, and a flurry of shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano ($8).

Cavatelli (Rabbit Bolognese with Tomato Sauce and more shaved Parm) was also $8.

During Happy Hour draft beer is $1 off; well drinks and select wines are $5; and Martinis and Manhattans are $7.

Here’s something that’s not included in Happy Hour, but worth ordering in any case. It’s a semifreddo-like nougat mousse with a sweet strawberry sauce. Loved the crunchy glazed nuts within!

Deviled eggs. For many of us they conjure up memories of childhood, when the rich, eggy spheres were nothing more than smashed yolks, gobs of mayo, and perhaps a dice of bread-and-butter or dill pickle for crunch.

Modern-day deviled eggs take many forms, and one of the best in Seattle is at (perhaps surprisingly) Seastar Restaurant & Raw Bar, with locations in downtown Seattle and Bellevue.

Here’s an almost celestial photo of the bouncing beauties, whose slightly spicy filling was as smooth as glass and as addictive as opium. As you might expect of a restaurant that specializes in seafood, the eggs come topped with your choice of Truffled Ahi Tartare or Citrus Salmon Gravlax.

Or do as we did, and get an order of each.

On a busy Saturday evening, we made our way through bustling Belltown for our dinner reservation at Tavolàta, chef/owner Ethan Stowell’s Italian restaurant along Second Avenue.

We were starving, so quickly ordered the Grilled Octopus with Spring Onion, Lemon, Anchovy, and Capers. The octopus arrived in all its glory, its tentacles artfully twirled, its texture perfectly tender and pleasantly chewy. A squirt or two of fresh lemon juice really brought out its sweet/salty flavor.

Campanelle with Mediterranean Mussels, Asparagus, Basil Pesto, and Preserved Lemon was rich, creamy, and toothsome, not to mention such a generous portion we took more than half home to enjoy another night.

When you eat out as much as Spencer and I do, you start to order certain menu items (think roasted chicken, seafood pasta, main-dish Caesar salads) that are standards on many restaurant menus.

Of late, Whole Grilled or Roasted Fish has become one of these standards. We’ve raved about the whole Idaho trout offerings at Steelhead Diner in the Pike Place Market and Palace Kitchen. Branzino restaurant has a whole preparation of its namesake fish. And the Pink Door does a nice job with whole branzino as well.

Here’s our newest discovery. Whole Roasted Branzino with Caramelized Fennel, Cerignola Olives, Scallions, and Lemon at Tulio Ristorante in downtown Seattle’s Hotel Vintage Park-yum!

Last month, during our time in our second port of call in Alaska, Juneau, we enjoyed touring Macauley Salmon Hatchery, Mendenhall Glacier, and Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure. The tours lasted until almost 2 p.m., so by the time we got off the bus, we were ready to eat!

Chris, our tour guide, suggested we try The Hangar on The Wharf, and it proved to be a good tip. The place is aptly named, for spry sea planes practically taxi into the restaurant’s big picture windows while float plane models dangle above your head.

Here’s a coupla sentences about the resto’s history, from their Web site:

“The Hangar on the Wharf is located in Juneau’s historic Merchants Wharf Mall which used to be the home of Alaska Coastal Airlines in the 1940’s. The seaplane hangar is a landmark in aviation history. Famous pilots such as Will Rogers used to land their aircraft in front of the Hangar during their great northern expeditions as the museum of enlarged historic photos at the restaurant show.”

We both bolted down a huge Halibut Burger and massive side salad for me; Spencer opted for a side of Hangar Fries.

Mendenhall Margaritas made a good match for food and scenery. . .they have a slightly blue tinge. Apt, since, of course, they’re named for the nearby Mendenhall Glacier.

My latest post for Amazon.com’s Al Dente blog went up earlier today, and it’s a fun one. In it I share Kay Simon’s recipe for Cherries in Red Wine (think fresh Washington cherries marinated in Merlot and preserved for the winter months!) along with suggestions for pairing with Ruby Port–two from Washington state and one from Portugal. Kay’s the talented winemaker and co-owner, along with her husband Clay, at Chinook Wines in the Yakima Valley.

During an action-packed 24 hours in Anchorage last month, we enjoyed Monday brunch at the world-renowned Snow City. It’s a hippy-dippy sort of place with laid-back servers, lots of glass that lets in plenty of natural light, and mostly organic/local/sustainable items on the menu.

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon seemed like a really authentic dish–carefully scrambled eggs with a generous slab of hard-smoked (and rather dry) salmon.

The Crab Omelet (the resto’s bestseller) was ethereal. . .mounds of light, luscious snow crab meat encased in a well-crafted layer of eggs. And look at the size of those slabs of toast!

A generous plate of fresh fruit (one of many options for roasted potatoes) was a healthy and palate-cleansing way to top off bottomless miss-matched mugs of coffee. Spencer’s was emblazoned with the words, “Anchorage Running Club.”

While on an excursion in Juneau last month, we visited the Mendenhall Glacier, which rears its sparkling face just a short ride outside of downtown.

As gorgeous as the glacier was, I could hardly take my eyes off the Tongass National Forest Steep Creek Fish Cam, where you can watch a live feed of salmon (pinks and sockeyes the day we visited) making their way through Steep Creek from July through November.

You know I’m a big fan of Web cams. . .click here to view my very own Puget Sound Cam.

In May, I enjoyed two Savor Seattle Food Tours so much that I wrote about them for The Seattle Times Pacific Northwest magazine’s Taste column, to which I’m a regular contributor.

Today the article was published–so you can relive my experience and enjoy a photo of Savor Seattle Food Tours founder Angela Shen. Here’s the link to “Market Fresh.”