Tuna Tartar

With Christmas behind us and the apartment actually clean, I thought it would be a perfect time to have a little dinner-party and invite some friends over to try some of my new recipes.

I decided to make prime rib as our main course because I have never made it before and with the cold weather it sounded yummy. Since the main dish was such a hefty one, I thought it would be good to start with something a bit lighter.
I headed over to Nijiya Market, which is walking distance from our old casa, and just a short drive from our current casa here in Culver City...Mitsuwa is another good market for sushi fish and other delicious treats in our area. If you are not near a fabulous Japanese market, roll over to Whole Foods, Gelson's, Bristol Farms or another local spot that has SUSHI GRADE FISH. That is the only type of fish that should be used for this recipe. Also,make sure your kitchen and hands are clean, and I keep a little bowl of rice vinegar mixed with water and a clean kitchen towel on hand to wipe things down (knife, etc.) and keep it clean while working with the raw fish.



Tuna Tartar
By: ME, Beth G
Serves 4-8 (8 mini, 4 "regular"- like a normal can of tuna size, 6 perfect-size- like the lil can of tuna with the pull tap) :)

About 1 lb SUSHI GRADE tuna, chopped to bits
1 large ripe avocado
1-2 T fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp prepared wasabi
2-3 tsp chili sauce (siracha is recommended, but the store was out of it, so I used the Lee Kum Garlic Chili sauce)
Kosher salt
1/2 tsp soy sauce
2-3 green onions finely chopped
sliced pickled ginger and sesame seeds to garnish

Place the chopped tuna in a medium bowl. Cut the avocado in half, put one half away for future use- cube the other half and toss in with the tuna in the bowl. Stir in lemon juice, wasabi, chili sauce, a pinch of salt, soy sauce & green onions. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Remove marinated mix from the fridge. Cube up remaining half of avocado. Mold tartar into little circles using a cookie cutter, cleaned tuna can, or (as I did) the top of a disposable cup with the bottom cut off. Top with avocado, a little ginger and sesame seeds.