Grilled Tuna with Scallion Smashed Potatoes in a Habanero Clam Broth

Friday nights more and more frequently involve Jason and I staying home, pulling out the cookbooks and coming up with a new and delicious meal.  Kind of an in-house date night!

We were both in the mood for some fish and I really needed a gluten-free meal (there end up being more free bagels in grad school than I had anticipated).  Tuna seemed like a good compromise (Jason wanted swordfish but I didn't want such a meaty fish) and we were both intrigued by Mario Batali's recipe for cockles with habanero broth.  The habanero made it sound like a Flay recipe but we decided to try it out.  We had a bunch of potatoes and thought they would be a great gluten-free starch.  Jason decided some scallions in the potatoes would really help tie it to the habanero broth.  A couple of ring molds later and Jason plated this beautiful meal.

The habanero clam broth was amazing.  Such an unexpected pairing but the habanero, white wine and dash of tomato sauce was complimented prefectly by the liquid released from the clams.  And Jason was right, the scallion potatoes were the perfect match for the broth.  The meal went perfectly with a Soave Superiore.  The tuna was probably a little light for the plate.  Grilling it outside would have been ideal, or simply a heartier fish but all in all it was a most delicious meal!

Tuna Salad with Garbanzo Beans and Vegetables

Variations on this dish are one of my favorite springtime dishes.  All winter the food I eat needs to be warm, but with the warmer weather my body and mind can finally handle some cool salads.  For this recipe I always use my only brand of tuna, Genova.  It's pricey but well worth it.

Dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight, drained, rinsed and cooked until tender, about 1 1/2 hours (I soaked more than I needed for this dish, and then used leftovers for hummus)
1 3oz can Genova tuna (or other tuna packed in oil)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1-2 stalks celery diced
1-2 radishes diced
1-2 tsp capers
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste (not much salt since the tuna I use is a little salty)
fresh parsley

Mix in a large bowl and enjoy!