Friday, May 20, 2011

Tuna Tartare / Tuna Ceviche ...Call it what you will!

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I think I waited this long to post my recipe for Tuna Tartare because it's very difficult to photograph. I tried once before only to end up with a series of photos ...each worse than the last!

I recall feeling intensely frustrated that the appearance of one of my favorite appetizers ever (through the eye of the lens) simply wasn't appealing.

With this frustration came spontaneous, uncontrollable eating of the subject...and alas...there was none.

SighThe only thing worse than a bad picture, was no picture at all.  

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So I decided it was time to once again ..."give it a go!"  I needed to share the recipe with the world! ;)

Perhaps more of a "ceviche" as the lime juice, soy sauce and spicy sriracha basically "cook" the tuna...I wanted a tuna tartare that was akin to a Spicy Tuna Sushi Roll...(my second favorite thing on earth ...only behind spicy salmon.)

Fresh, spicy and delicious...I like using salted ridged potato chips for scooping...as they offer just the right amount of sturdiness and crunch!

Now here are a few photos....
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NOTE BELOW: This particular time I only had a regular cucumber on hand so I made certain to thoroughly scoop out its seeds. Seedless, English cucumbers are preferred and best to use with this recipe as they wont release as much water as a regular cucumber...but sometimes we just have to use what we have!

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While the pictures of the Tuna Tartare still are not spectacular...I tried my best to capture its essence and flavor!

A crowd pleasing appetizer...the keys to seeing this Tuna Tartare is successful... are keeping it fresh and serving it immediately!   Enjoy!

Tuna Tartare

1/2 pound fresh quality tuna steak, very finely chopped
Juice and zest from one medium lime
1/2 tsp. Soy Sauce
1/8 tsp Sesame Oil
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 medium size cucumber, finely diced (Seedless is preferred) *if you can't get seedless, scoop out the seeds of a regular cucumber as seen above
Kosher salt to taste
3 T. Quality Mayonnaise
1 T. Sriracha Sauce
Lots of ridged (or other sturdy) potato chips

Directions:

Prepare your sriracha mayonnaise by whisking together the mayonnaise and Sriracha sauce. Set aside.

In a medium non-reactive bowl (I use glass) add (in this order) your tuna, lime juice and zest, soy sauce, sesame oil, prepared sriracha mayonnaise, green onion and cucumber. Stir together well.

Salt only if needed - keeping in mind if you're using salted potato chips for scooping, they have their own amount of salt that will add to the overall salt content.

At this point I like to place the tuna tartare in a non-reactive strainer to rid it of any unnecessary liquid that developed as a result of the cucumber releasing some of its water. I leave the tuna tartare in the strainer about 2 minutes.

Discard and liquid that strained out, place your tartare in a bowl (or shape like above) and serve immediately with lots of sturdy potato chips.

13 comments:

Clint said...

You done good. The pics look great. I can only imagine how it tastes!

Bake-A-Holic said...

Wow! This looks amazing!! I love spicy tuna rolls too! I will definitely get this recipe and make it soon.

Your pictures turned out beautiful! I'm not sue why some foods are so hard to photograph. Very frustrating.

Also, where did you get your fresh tuna from?

Unknown said...

Thanks guys!

@Bake-A-Holic there is a "boutique style" seafood market by us that gets amazing fish!!! They will specify the fish that is sushi/sashimi grade.

:) XO

Marc van der Wouw said...

Great job...looks very nice...Love tune;-)

Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...

You are too hard on yourself. Your photos are spectacular. The only problem I see is having to wait to dive in to the tuna while you snap the pictures. Tuna tartare is one of my all time favs.
Sam

Jess @ polka dots, Paris and paint said...

That looks divine! Could I get you to do an entire series about gourmet food that one can eat with ruffles? :) Those would be snacks I would make everyday!

Tabitha Bee said...

Whatever classification you choose, it looks divine. Simple, too! What great summer patio party food! Thanks!

Nicole said...

I've never even heard of sriracha - I'll have to check it out. Anything else you use it for??

Simply Life said...

oh I'm so impressed with your photos (as always) and think this looks great!

Anonymous said...

What are you talking about?! I love your photos! :) And this dish sounds delicious. I have never had a tuna tartare and the cheviche I've had is different. But hey can I have a plate of this one? ;)

Maria
Cocina Diary

Anonymous said...

the pictures are very very pretty! i love salted potato chip along with this tuna ceviche. what a great idea!

Nuts about food said...

That tuna looks spectacular and I loved your photos too!

Karen said...

Well, I think you did pretty darn well with the photos! It looks wonderful! And the flavors sound so good.
It's so frustrating trying to take pictures of stubborn foods...my latest problem is soup. It just doesn't like having its photo taken...At least not when I'm behind the lens!