Preparing Tuna Tartare
Tuna tartare is often regarded as a specialty, high-end dish, but you can prepare it in your own kitchen. "Tartare" refers to a dish made of minced raw meat, spices, and often raw egg yolk. The dish originated with the Tartars, Mongolian and Turkic tribes in the Middle Ages, who made low-quality beef more palatable by shredding it and eating it raw. Eventually, steak tartare evolved into an upper-crust French dish made with high-quality minced raw steak and egg yolks.
Tuna tartare is made from raw, minced tuna. This dish might go for over $20 as an appetizer at a fancy restaurant, but you can make it yourself at home for only a few dollars a serving.
Although eating raw fish is generally safe, raw tuna does carry some risk of bacterial contamination. To keep yourself safe, only buy sushi-grade tuna, and make sure you buy, prepare and eat the tuna on the same day. In addition, tuna and other fish may contain high levels of mercury. Pregnant women, women who are nursing and young children should limit fish consumption to less than 12 ounces a week. This recipe provides two servings.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 pound sushi-grade ahi tuna
- 1 tsp. minced jalapeño
- 1 tsp. minced shallots
- 1 tsp. minced scallion
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
- Thick cut, kettle cooked potato chips
Dice the tuna into 1/8-inch pieces. Combine with the jalapeño, shallots, scallion, lemon juice and olive oil. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Chill the tuna tartare for 1 hour. Place a 2 1/4-inch round ring mold in the center of a plate and fill it with half the tartare. Repeat with the other half on a second plate.
Sprinkle the tuna tartare with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with thick cut, kettle cooked potato chips. Toasting sesame seeds helps bring out their flavor. To toast sesame seeds, place them in an ungreased pan over medium heat. Toast for about five minutes, moving the seeds constantly so they don't burn.
