Two Dads Cook

We're just two dads with a son and a love for food.

Tuna Tartare

We kicked off this holiday weekend with a bit of a lazy walk through a farmers’ market, where local farmers, cheese makers, bakers and other food artisans all came together in a pretty spectacular garden setting.

It only took a few minutes for us to pile our bags high with local lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, beets and berries. Owen had a great time reaching for the beautifully stacked produce and the colorful preserves.

Among the purveyors was an amazing fishmonger from Metropolitan Seafood Gourmet, and his cool stall was piled high with lots of bright-eyed whole fish, neatly netted shellfish and filets of every size and density. And it all smelled of the sea — clean, salty, and spectacularly fresh. From the moment we entered we knew that dinner would have to incorporate something from that stall.

The netted bags of cockles, clams and mussels were an easy choice — Scott can never get enough of them — but the fishmonger made that decision even easier by shucking a handful of clams and offering them to us with a friendly “Salud!” We downed them raw, savoring their lovely sea liquor. Next he shaved paper thin slices of buttery sea scallops — again, amazing. But when he then sliced ruby-bright slices of ahi tuna and offered those up, we knew we had to bring back a thick steak for some pre-dinner tuna tartare. Perfection.

Method:

2 tbl. soy sauce

1 tbl. rice vinegar (white vinegar will do in a pinch)

1 tbl. or more of fresh lemon juice

1.5 tsp. wasabi paste

3/4 tsp. Asian sesame oil

8 oz. or more of sushi-grade ahi tuna steak, cut into 1/4 in. dice

1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/4 in. dice

1 c. cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4 in. dice

1/2 small red onion, cut into 1/4 in. dice

salted potato chips, rice crackers or toasted slices of baguette

Whisk the first five ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.  In a serving bowl, add the tuna, avocado, cucumber and red onion. Drizzle over the soy mixture and gently stir to combine.  Place a sheet of plastic wrap on the surface of the tartare to prevent the avocado from browning, then wrap the bowl tightly with a bit more plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least an hour to allow the flavors to marry.

Serve with the chips, crackers or toasted slices of baguette.

  1. littlespooon reblogged this from twodadscook and added:
    cutest blog yet.
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