sicilian tuna, with fennel, black olives, and lemon
In the book, Tom and Sisha write that they did not have a tuna fish sandwich on their menu until one day a magazine doing a piece on the shop wanted to take a picture of one. So , being accommodating yet not compromising, they created one. This sandwich took three days to make and I suspect the ‘Wichcraft team did not think about the pantry of the home chef when they made it. Things like lemon confit and homemade mayonnaise are things they probably make and use daily, but not most of the book’s readers. Anyway, here we go.
The first thing I did was make the lemon confit. Anticipating this dish, I ordered some tuna from La Tienda; the good stuff. I halved the recipe so I needed 6 oz of tuna. I used a combination of Bonito del Norte and Reserva Bonita del Norte, both from Ortiz. Many people think the words “low quality” when it comes to canned seafood. They may be surprised to know that the Europeans, especially Italians and most definitely the Spanish take their canned seafood very seriously. Some of the stuff in cans is better than the fresh locally caught fare.
Anyway, the combination of the two cans, drained of oil, yielded close to 6 oz. Close enough. I mixed it with some EVOO (shoutout to the crazy Rachel Ray), red wine vinegar, capers, fresh oregano (thanks CSA), salt and pepper and shallots (I didn’t have red onions). I added a 1/4 tsp extra vinegar because I didn’t think it had a good enough kick. Notice there is no mayo in the tuna. They specifically said they hated the traditional tuna salad recipe because of the mayo.
Next, I cut off the top of the fennel and thinly sliced it. I reserved the fronds which had a fragrant licorice smell. I marinated it in some olive oil and lemon juice. I also pitted and loosely cut some green olives marinated with garlic. I got this from the olive bar at Vons. The recipe calls for Nicoise olives. Sorry, I didn’t find those and I was not going to buy a whole jar of them. I only bought about 7 since I don’t even like olives.
The recipe calls for the use of one baguette. It does not mention removing any of the flesh, toasting it, or anything. Since my Vons baguette was an odd size (more like 3/4 of a baguette and fatter), I just cut off the ends so there was a bit les tapering. Then, I cut the loaf in half and using my MAC breadknife, split it in half lengthwise. I put the lemon mayo on one of the slices of my sandwich, leaving Liz’s mayo free. I layered the tuna salad, fennel, olives, confit, and fennel fronds. I wrapped them up in saran wrap and brought it over to Liz’s to share. I thought the sandwich had too much bread. Next time I am usign a different bread or removing some of the inside. I also thought it was a bit too salty. In retrospect, that makes since since nearly every individual ingredient had salt in it. I don’t mind my foods a little intense though so it was not too terrible. I would make this again if I happen to have the ingredients laying around. In other words, never. In all honesty though, the only item I would need to get now that I have the lemon confit made, is fennel. Canned tuna is in the pantry, capers are in the fridge, I can use store bought mayo instead of fresh, and I can skip the olives.
Here’s what Liz, the Wicked ‘Wich of the West had to say about this sandwich -
Having heard about ‘Wichcraft,” my expectations were pretty high for my first bite of a designer sandwich. What made this ‘wich stand out is that I had never tasted this combination before. Everyone knows you can’t go wrong with peanut butter and chocolate or strawberry and banana, but how many people have tasted tuna with fennel, olives, lemon confit and capers? It was a new flavor experience, and it was a good one! There was a nice mix of textures. And although I’m not a fan of fennel’s flavor, it worked in this combination.
The next time David tackles this sandwich, and I hope he will, I’d like to join him in the kitchen. To make it more of a crowd pleaser, I’d suggest a little less bread and a little less salt. Until then, I’ll be looking for another excuse to eat lemon confit.
Resources: Cuisinart Imersion Stick Blender, Benriner Mandoline, bonito tuna (Ortiz via La Tienda).