When he was a kid, Chef Brian Lewis’ father returned from a deep-sea fishing trip off the coast of Nags Head, North Carolina. In his arms was a cooler filled with some of the most beautiful tuna young Lewis had ever seen. That night, his father crusted some of the loins with sesame seeds, seared them and served them over a bed of chilled angel hair paste covered with sesame oil. “He filled it all with a soy butter blanc sauce – so 1990s!” Lewis jokes. “But to this day, it’s one of my most memorable dishes of all time.”
Today, Lewis, the restaurateur behind Southern America BOCADO Bar & Diner in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta’s award-winning BIT, and the proud father of three sons ranging in age from 15 to 10. And he continues to prepare his deceased father’s version of sesame tuna beurre blanc three or four times a year for them.
“The excitement for this particular dinner reached ‘squeaky’ levels when the boys were younger,” he says. “That reaction always makes me smile and brings back a good memory of my first time eating this dish.”
Lunch times in the Lewis household are crucial moments where the family catches up with the simple activities of the day. “There are definitely no phones, and everyone is in, from the table setting – we always use linen napkins, expertly folded by my boys – to plating and finishing ‘to the dish’,” says Lewis. “Everyone has a varied job from day to day.”
When he prepares his father’s sesame tuna beurre blanc recipe, Lewis orders a loin of two to three pounds which he then hands out. And while it’s definitely a treat, the whole meal comes together quickly: The fish only needs a few minutes in the pan and the sauce diminishes quickly. Cooling the pasta takes the most time.
Whether you serve it on a special occasion or just some weekday evening, perhaps it will evoke similar memories of Lewis. Because what is a wonderful meal, if not a memory?
Chef Brian Lewis’s Sesame Crusted Tuna White Butter
Ingredients:
1 box of angel hair paste
Roasted sesame oil
sesame seeds
4 6-ounce tuna loin
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup rice wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
8 ounces (cold) unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
Directions:
For the Pasta
- Cook the angel hair paste as indicated on the box
- Drain and toss with a generous amount of roasted sesame seed oil (about 4-5 ounces) and 1/8 cup sesame seeds
- Cover and refrigerate until cold
For the Tuna Loin
- Cover each serving of loin completely with sesame seeds
- Add a thin layer of roasted sesame seed oil to the pan and heat to medium. Once the oil is hot, fry the loin for one minute per side or to desired temperature (Lewis’ family hardly prefers). If medium is barely the desired temperature, Lewis recommends cooking for about one minute and 20 seconds. (NOTE: Stove plates differ in calibration. Press on the center of the loin to register softness.)
- Rest tuna loin for three to five minutes before slicing.
For the Soy White Butter Sauce
- Combine white wine, rice wine and soy sauce in a medium saucepan and simmer. Reduce until only half of the initial amount of sauce is left.
- Beat cold butter little by little until incorporated.
- Whip cream until the sauce is to your desired consistency. Serve immediately.
To plate, wrap pasta in a beehive shape in the center of the plate, cut rested tuna into ½-inch portions (three per plate) and support against pasta. Add two (generous) spoons full of the still hot sauce over pasta and tuna and enjoy.
