Saturday, May 10, 2014

SUMMER TUNA - Not Your Mom's Tuna Salad




SUMMER TUNA
 Not Your Mom's Tuna Salad


You've got your ceviche, sushi, nicoise, seared Ahi, and mom's tuna salad from a can... and now you have tuna tartare, an absolutely delicious dish that Richard made the other night.

With the weather warming, it's time to bring out summer food delights... ice cream cones, BBQ anything, watermelon, potato salad and cole slaw.  Now you can add tuna tartare to your hot nights menu.  It will snap, crackle and pop in your mouth.

Ahi Tuna Tartare w/ Avocado, Crispy Shallots
& Soy-Sesame Dressing

(inspired by Laurent Tourondel of BLT)



INGREDIENTS:  

 

For the Ahi Tuna & Avocado Tartare:
20 ounces sushi-quality Ahi tuna, cut into small dice
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt & freshly ground pepper

For the crispy shallots and rice:
canola oil for frying
4 tablespoons finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons rice crispies (yes, rice crispies!)
sea salt

For the soy-seasame dressing:

3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon hot sesame oil  (Richard used regular, not hot)
1 teaspoon honey

DIRECTIONS:

For the tuna tartare:

Toss the tuna w/ the olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Toss the avocado w/ lemon juice and season w/ salt and pepper.


For the crispy shallots & rice:
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan.
Toss the shallots in the flour and fry for 45 seconds, or until golden brown.
Remove the shallots w/ a fine mesh strainer and drain on paper towels.
Mix in the rice crispies.
Season w/ salt.

For the soy-sesame dressing:
Mix all the ingredients together.


TO ASSEMBLE:

Mold the avocado using a 3-inch tartlet ring or cube mold.
        (We didn't have a 3-inch anything so Richard cut the bottom off a Brummel & Brown               "margarine" tub and used that as a mold)
Mold the tuna tartare on top of the avocado and finish w/ the crispy shallots.
Lift off the ring and drizzle the dressing around.


Overhead view:


Serves 6


 

2 comments:

Jennifer Calder said...

I am a vegetarian, but this is so beautiful I am inspired to make a veg version.

kdmask said...

Oh looks beautiful but I'm scared of the tar-tar
TAR TAR get it?!! Lahahaha