Jeremy Sewall has a gift for making simple food feel elevated. The award-winning chef and co-owner of Boston’s Row 34 restaurants has built his career around honest, ingredient-driven cooking that never tries too hard, just fresh, thoughtful food done right.
In his new cookbook, Everyday Chef: Simple Dishes for Family and Friends , Sewall brings that same effortless style home, sharing the kind of recipes that turn a weeknight dinner into something quietly special.
His Grilled Tuna with Ginger Mustard and Tomato Basil Salad is a perfect example, with clean, balanced flavors that let the ingredients shine. Seared tuna, brushed with a gingery mustard glaze, meets the freshness of ripe tomatoes and basil for a dish that feels as refined as it is relaxed.
Recipe
SERVES 4
MUSTARD
¼ cup Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons crème fraîche
2 thumb-size pieces ginger, rinsed but unpeeled
½ teaspoon kosher salt
SALAD
1 medium red tomato
1 medium yellow tomato
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large basil leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
TUNA
Four 6- to 7-ounce tuna steaks
2 tablespoons canola oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
12 small basil leaves
For the ginger mustard, in a bowl combine the Dijon and crème fraîche. On the largest holes of a box grater, grate the ginger. Place a strainer over a small bowl. By hand, squeeze the ginger over the bowl to extract its juice. Discard solids and stir the ginger juice into the Dijon mixture. Stir in the salt.
For the salad, core the tomatoes. Slice the tomatoes into ½-inch slices and then dice into ¼-inch pieces. Place the tomatoes and any juices in a mixing bowl and season with salt and pepper. Stack the basil leaves, roll into a tight cylinder, and slice into thin ribbons. Add to the tomatoes. Stir in the olive oil and let the salad sit at room temperature until ready to use.
Preheat a grill to high heat and clean the grill grates.
Brush the tuna steaks with the canola oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. Place the tuna on the grill and cook for 90 seconds per side. Every 30 seconds, give the steaks a quarter turn to create even grill marks. The tuna should remain rare in the middle. (Adjust cooking time if you prefer your tuna cooked through.) Remove from the grill and drizzle the lemon juice over the tuna. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
To show off the beautiful red interior of the tuna, slice each steak into 3 to 4 pieces. Place on individual plates, top with the tomato salad, and serve the ginger mustard on the side.
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