Recipes Seared Tuna with Spinach and Root Vegetables 5.0 (5,268) 1 Review Chef Way Takashi Yagihashi roasts hamachi (yellowtail) until crisp, then combines it with buttery root vegetables, spinach and a lush sauce of mirin, soy sauce, butter and Szechuan peppercorns.Healthier Way To simplify the recipe, skip the hamachi in favor of easy-to-find tuna and cook it in a touch of oil. Don't make the sauce; instead, use the key ingredients to flavor the root vegetables. By Takashi Yagihashi Takashi Yagihashi Why Because his dishes exquisitely combine French and Japanese ideas. Born Mito, Japan, 1957. Experience Yoshi's Cafe and Ambria in Chicago. Early food memory "I grew up only 10 miles from the ocean, so we had lots of fresh seafood. Fish was very cheap, meat was very expensive so nobody ever fed me beef or lamb." Favorite childhood restaurants "Western food was very rare in my town, so McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken were high-end." Least favorite food "Okay, I'm not crazy about ketchup. But I like mayonnaise." A rule in his kitchen His line cooks are forbidden to have soft drinks while they're working. "I think it ruins their palates." What he'd be if he weren't a chef A "Pat Metheny-style" guitarist. Favorite restaurants Savarin and Arun in Chicago. What he does when he's not working Spends time with his wife and three children, ages eight, five and one. "I cook traditional Japanese food; the kids like it. My son's favorite is sukiyaki. He calls it brown meat.'" Won Best New Chef at: Tribute, Farmington Hills, MI Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on October 12, 2015 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Lucy Schaeffer Total Time: 35 mins Yield: 4 Ingredients 2 tablespoons canola oil 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced 1 medium parsnip, thinly sliced 1 small onion, thinly sliced 1/4 cup water 1 tablespoon unsalted butter Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 tablespoon mirin 1 1/2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce Pinch of ground Szechuan peppercorns 1 pound tuna steak (about 1 1/4 inches thick) 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced One 5-ounce bag baby spinach 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley Directions In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil. Add the carrot, parsnip and onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add the water and butter, season with salt and pepper and cook until the vegetables are tender and the liquid is nearly evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mirin, soy sauce and Szechuan peppercorns and keep warm. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of canola oil until nearly smoking. Season the tuna with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, turning once, until browned on the outside but still pink in the center, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Add the garlic and spinach to the skillet, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring, just until wilted. Mound the spinach on plates. Thinly slice the tuna and arrange over the spinach. Spoon the root vegetables and any juices on top, sprinkle with the parsley and serve. Suggested Pairing Fresh, berry-inflected rosé from Napa Valley. Rate it Print