Happy 101st Birthday Julia Child! Julia deserves celebrating as she reigned from Pasadena, CA (my alma mater’s town-Io Triumphe!), studied cooking in Paris, France (one of mine and everyone else’s favorite cities), and made French food accessible to the American household. I am cooking two of her Mastering the Art of French Cooking recipes tonight in her honor. Over the past year, I’ve made her incredible Coq Au Vin, decadent Creamy Carrots, and traditional Bearnaise Sauce atop steak. And in the past I’ve made her sumptuous Beef Bourguignon twice (reminder to self–make again this winter for blog!).

Marinade for the fish ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

So tonight, I decided to try one of her lesser-known recipes for Tuna or Swordfish Steaks in a Provencal traditional sauce of white wine, tomatoes, and herbs. Mmm…I’m already excited to eat this and I’ve only just finished step 2 (marinate). Montana Fish Company didn’t have the kind of tuna steaks I wanted yesterday but they did have swordfish steaks. So I looked it up in my Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch App and found that the Hawaiian Swordfish for sale was a Best Choice! Perfect! I had the fish monger slice a large chunk of glistening fish into a smaller steak size.

Peeling the tomatoes for prep ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Steps 1 & 2 (prepare the marinade) and prepping the onions, garlic, and tomatoes (I refrigerated them after prep) all took just 30 minutes. I’d never peeled a tomato before, so I was apprehensive but it was simple, quarter the tomato, scoop out the seeds with your fingers or a small spoon, and just peel back the top layer. See Photo Above. So I feel confident now to start actually cooking once the hour plus marinating time is done. While I wait I’m also snapping the ends off my Hutterite farmer’s market green beans to make Julia Child’s Haricots Verts a la Maitre d’Hotel, Buttered Green Beans with Lemon Juice and Parsley.

Making the tomato, onion, garlic, herb sauce ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Lifting the lid off the tomato sauce, step #4, made the house fragrantly Provence-reminiscent. I enjoyed cooking this dish tremendously. And after making a few of Julia’s recipes in the past, I’ve realized I’m no longer that intimidated by the lengthier steps because I know that the results will always be well-received and well worth the effort. I enjoy being in the kitchen making one of these recipes very much, especially when I don my pearls a la Julia. I served the Provencal fish steaks alongside the Green Beans and some roasted red potatoes.

Ready for the oven ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

I absolutely, positively loved this recipe!! Julia still hasn’t let me down! This looks so pretty you could double or triple the recipe below and serve it at a dinner party or special occasion. It was truly a beautiful mix of flavors and nothing was too strong. The swordfish steaks held up so nicely and weren’t dried out by the baking (my fear with this recipe). On the contrary, they were tender, flaky, and the sauce was so flavorful. It was just a lovely dish and with the green beans on the side it was perfection. You could make the Provencal sauce to accompany pork loin or chops or chicken too. Thank you Julia and Bon Appetit!

Thon A La Provencale (Swordfish Steaks with Wine, Tomatoes and Herbs ©EverydayCookingAdventures 2013

Thon A La Provencale (Tuna or Swordfish Steaks with Wine, Tomatoes and Herbs)

From: Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle & Simone Beck

Recipe modified here to serve 3 to 4 (original recipe serves 6 to 8–just double all ingredients except herbs)
Prep Time: 30 mins
Hands-On Cooking Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh tuna or swordfish steaks about ¾-inch thick (2 to 3 hand-size steaks)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil, divided (2 tbsp & 2 tbsp)
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup onions, peeled and minced (about 1/2 a medium onion)
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (about 3 medium tomatoes)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 1/4 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup dry white wine or 1/3 cup dry vermouth
• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1/2 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Directions:
1. Remove skin from the fish, and cut into serving-size portions.

2. Whisk together the salt, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Arrange the fish in a large dish in one layer, pour marinade over the fish and marinate 1½ to 2 hours, turning occasionally. Drain the fish, and dry thoroughly on paper towels. Discard the marinade.

3. Heat the remaining olive oil (2 tbsp) in a skillet until shimmery, and add the fish. Sauté over medium-high heat a few minutes on each side to brown lightly. Rearrange the cooked fish in a baking pan large enough to hold them in one layer.

4. Heat oven to 350ºF. Add the onions to the skillet, and cook until softened and becoming translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, garlic, seasoning and herbs. Cover, and cook slowly over lowered heat about 5 minutes. Taste, and adjust seasonings if needed. Pour the tomato mixture over the fish. Cover the baking pan, and bake for 15 minutes.

5. Pour in the wine, and bake for 30 minutes more, turning the oven down to 325ºF as soon as the sauce comes to a simmer.

6. Remove fish from sauce, scraping sauce off the fish back into the pan. Keep fish warm while you finish the sauce.

7. Place sauce in a saucepan, and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Cook until sauce is reduced to about 2 cups. Stir in the tomato paste. Simmer, taste and correct seasoning.

8. Mix together the flour and butter into a thick paste. Off the heat, beat the flour/butter mixture into the sauce. Return to heat, and bring to a simmer, stirring. Stir in the chopped parsley, spoon sauce over fish, and serve.