I just ended my rotation at the ‘sandwich station’ of the restaurant. Sandwiches are often very underrated, and considered to be the cheap relative to a fancy meal. The sandwich station at the restaurant is a way for us culinary students to re-think this all-time lunch favorite. I decided to try making a gourmet fresh tuna sandwich, with velvety avocado and a soy and scallion marinade.

Up to now, we had only been assigned recipes that had been tested by our chefs and that we tried to execute as best we could for our customers. This was thus a new opportunity to get creative, and come up with a different sandwich special to be served every day.

Since then I have begun my last month of school culinary .. so, if all goes well, I will be adorned with a chef’s hat in a month exactly!

Recipe:
Tuna loin
Sesame seeds
2 scallions
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/2 avocado, sliced
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil and canola oil
Bordelais bread

Cut the bread into thin slices. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill to obtain a nice grill mark and set aside. Season the tuna loin on all sides, generously, with salt and pepper. Pat with an even coat of sesame seeds making sure all sides are covered. Place a pan on high heat. Once it’s warm, drizzle in some canola oil. Once the pan is steaming hot (and the oil starts to fume) delicately place the tuna loin inside. Make sure the oil is hot enough or the tuna will stick to the pan. Sear the tuna on all sides until the sesame seeds are nicely golden. Leave to rest on a cooling rack.
In a bowl, mix the soy sauce, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar and sesame oil. Taste and adjust seasoning and acidity. Add the thinly sliced scallions.
Carefully slice the tuna. Layer the tuna on the bread alternating with the slices of avocado. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with the marinade. Enjoy!