Christmas Day Lunch

Ingredients:

Serves 4

400g piece of fresh tuna
1 packet spaghetti
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
½ bunch chervil
½ bunch chives
100 g black olives (20g for salad)
1 garlic clove
20g capers
50ml olive oil

(Spice Blend)
1 tbsp Coriander seeds
1 tbsp Black Peppercorns
1 star anise
4 cloves
½ tbsp cardamom pods

Recipe by Jeff Lamb - Tides Head Chef

Method

Step 1
Toast the spices and crush with a mortar and pestle. Add 2 tbsp salt

Step 2
Coat the tuna in the spices and cook in a hot pan for 20 seconds on each side so the tuna is sealed on the outside but still raw inside. Allow to cool.

Step 3
Cook the spaghetti in boiling salted water for 8 minutes and cool immediately. Mix with oil to prevent sticking

Step 4
Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Slice the chives into 1 inch batons and pick the chervil sprigs. Finely chop the black olives and add all the ingredients to the spaghetti.

Step 5
For the dressing: Puree the black olives (20g), garlic, capers and olive oil in a food processor until smooth.

To assemble

Slice the tuna into thin slices and arrange over the top of the spaghetti salad.

Spoon the black olive dressing around the plate being careful not to use too much.

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Melinda Houston from The Age newspaper gives her opinion on the seafood at "Tides Seafood Grill & Oyster Bar". The review appeared in "The Good Life" section on the 13th Nov 04.

"Ten points for daring. Lorimer Street, in the heart of Port Melbourne’s industrial zone, doesn't immediately leap to mind as the ideal location for a classy restaurant. But someone at Tides was prepared to take the plunge, and what a truly excellent idea it was.....

....The menu here, as befits both the location and the name, is seafood and more seafood. You can start with oysters all ways at $3 a pop or choose from a selection of small plates, all $16. Twenty-cent discs of spiced-crusted tuna come with a fresh walnut-and-mint dressing on a little tossed noodle salad. The tuna is rare and sweet and the salad flavours are clean...." (read the full article)

As the weather warms up, people head outdoors for fun, food and entertainment. Melbourne has a stack of events lined up throughout the summer period.

Here's a small sample:
Sunday 21 Nov 2004 - Telstra Dome Concourse Market 10am – 3pm
Tuesday 7 December 2004 - Cool Summer Jazz at Docklands Park - 12.15pm to 2pm
Tuesday 11 Jan 2005 - Bay Cycling Classic - Harbour Esplanade
Friday 4 Feb to Sunday 6 Feb 2005 - BIA Summer Boat Show - NewQuay

- Click here for more Docklands Events
- Summer fun in the parks
- School holiday fun