Appetizer Challenge: Tuna Tartare - YIKES!

Since 2003, goblue dad and I have cooked a fun meal at home for Valentine's day instead of spending our money at a restaurant. It paid off this year... as we selected TUNA TARTARE for an appetizer.

This was a stretch for me because I have not fully jumped on the sushi/raw seafood bandwagon. However, I was committed to trying it again.


Yes, I'm lame, but I had to show this photo. We found these fun Japanese soup spoons at World Market and loved the idea of serving the tuna tartare in these instead of regular spoons. We envision using them for other appetizers in the future.

Here is goblue dad slicing the tuna - the recipe suggested we cut it into 3/16" to 1/4" cubes. We used 1 pound of tuna, which probably would have served six or eight people. Needless to say, we had a lot of leftover tartare.


The tartare recipe from Ted Allen's book The Food You Want to Eat calls for extra virgin olive oil, dark sesame oil, soy sauce, wasabi paste, sushi-quality tuna (above), cilantro, fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon).

We mixed the ingredients together with the exception of the tuna and lemon juice. You want to wait until the last minute to add the lemon juice because the acid starts cooking the tuna once combined. Add the tuna followed by the lemon juice and prepare to serve to guests.


The finished product...
Surprisingly subtle, but tasty. It's amazing how different raw fish tastes in comparison to cooked fish. I have heard that if fish is overcooked, it will taste 'fishy,' which means I have eaten a lot of overcooked fish in my life at various restaurants. The sushi grade tuna that we bought had a subtle, enjoyable flavor to it. Frankly, I tasted more sesame oil than tuna. We both agreed that a little more wasabi paste would bring up the heat as we barely tasted it. Despite our criticisms, we still think it is a fun appetizer that we'll try again for those who are willing to eat it.

FYI's... we made this again for company this week and used a small bit of canola oil instead of sesame oil, added more wasabi paste and worcestshire sauce and it tasted even better than before. My stepdad showed us how to cut the tuna finer, which improved the texture upon eating it. If you try this recipe, play with it until it fits your tastes.