Steal This Recipe® Carpaccio di Salmone e Tonno | IL Tesoro

Salmon and Tuna Carpaccio

‘Stolen with permission’ from seasoned chef and restaurateur A.J. Black, owner of IL Tesoro, NYC, this delicious recipe has a tart yet sweet citrus flavor from a blood orange balsamic vinaigrette, with crisp endive slivers and micro arugula. This dish perfectly suits any spring or summer meal and is great for entertaining.

IL Tesoro has all the elements of a classic Italian restaurant, from the décor to the crisp white table cloths. The menu is full of mouth watering Italian fare, with some unusual choices like: Pere e Prosciutto - red wine roasted pears with thinly sliced prosciutto with Grana Padano, or Sausage and Broccoli Rabe - sautéed with garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and a touch of red pepper, Lasagna Piemontese - wild mushroom meat sauce and fresh mozzarella, or Grigliata di Pesce - grilled fish and seafood over arugula and tomatoes served with Dijonese sauce. IL Tesoro has everything you could want from an Italian restaurant and more!

About the chef: AJ Black grew up in the restaurant business in Rome, trained at the Italian Culinary Institute, and completed his internship at the Grand Hotel. With his passionate character and strong ambition, he opened his first restaurant, Café Roma, at the age of 19.

He has always been inspired by his early childhood in Sicily where cooking with his family was an event and an act of love; transforming the freshest ingredients from the garden and the field. His philosophy was, and still is, the same; only the best ingredients, beautifully prepared and presented.

Chef Black opened his first IL Tesoro Ristorante in 2008 on quiet Sanibel Island, Florida; then in 2009 he opened IL Tesoro at the Terrace in Edgartown Martha’s Vineyard in the historical Relais & Chateaux property the Charlotte Inn.

His latest outpost IL Tesoro Ristorante and Bar opened in New York City’s Upper East Side in September 2011. AJ is featured in Relais & Chateaux’s 85 Inspirational Chefs and Chef’s at Home and is currently working on his own cookbook.

IL Tesoro
1578 First Ave. and 82nd St.,
New York,
NY 10028
212 861 9620

Carpaccio di Salmone e Tonno is served at IL Tesoro for $15.
This recipe makes 4 restaurant servings.

Carpaccio di Salmone e Tonno Ingredients:
2 lbs fresh sushi-grade Bigeye tuna steak
2 lbs fresh wild salmon
2 endive heads
1 handful micro arugula
1 whole blood orange, sliced
1 cup fresh blood orange juice, strained
½ cup good aged balsamic vinegar
2 pinches sea salt
2 pinches black pepper
2 tsp of half olive oil/half vegetable oil mix

Equipment:
Parchment paper
Aluminum foil
Crème brûlée torch

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions:
Prepare fish by removing the skins and rinse in clean, cool water.
Filet the wild salmon open like a flat envelope and set aside.

For Blood Orange Reduction:
Bring to a boil the blood orange juice and aged balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer slowly until reduced, then set-aside.

In a hot pan coated with olive oil/vegetable oil mix, lightly sear the Bigeye tuna steak with a touch of salt and pepper on both sides.
Remove from the pan and filet tuna open like a flat envelope.
Marinate both the seared tuna steak and the wild salmon with salt and pepper and half of the blood orange balsamic reduction for 15 minutes.

Prepare a piece of aluminum foil on a flat surface and place a piece of parchment paper on top.
Remove the fish from the marinade, shaking off the excess, and place the salmon first, open and flat, on the parchment paper with the tuna placed on top of the salmon.
Gently roll the two fish together lengthwise and wrap the rolled fish in the parchment & foil to cover and seal.
With a torch used for crème brûlée, torch the outside of the roll to give the salmon a light sear.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then freeze for at least 15 minutes before slicing and plating.

Slice the whole blood orange into thin, even segments and set aside.
Julienne the endive and lightly toss with micro arugula in a prep bowl.
Set mixture aside.
Open the foil and parchment rolled fish and with a slicer or very sharp knife, cut into thin and even slices.

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions to Plate:
Place salmon/tuna slices on four chilled plates in a circular, flower formation (one slice in the center, with 5-6 slices around it).
Finish the dish by placing a small handful of the endive and micro-arugula mix on top and drizzle the remaining blood orange balsamic reduction.
Garnish with the blood orange segments and serve.