Sesame Ahi Tuna Tartare

 

Shortly before leaving Baltimore, Adam and I got a tiny bit obsessed with walking Oliver to Metropolitan, a local cafe and wine bar, and enjoying their tuna tartare with a cold drink in the rare months of sunshine. They mixed bell peppers into the tuna, which was clearly to add some filler, but we were OK with that because it was actually delicious and added a little crisp bite to the soft tuna. I decided to mess around with a dressing for the tuna, and came up with something really close to the original. Ahi tuna isn't always available, but you can substitute any sushi-grade tuna, like yellowfin.

Sesame Ahi Tuna Tartare

Ingredients

• 12 oz. sushi grade ahi tuna, (could also use yellowfin tuna)
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1.5 T. fresh lime juice
• 1 T. brown sugar
• 2 t. unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1.5 t. Sriracha
• 1 t. sesame oil
• 1 t. fresh grated ginger
• 1/4 cup* red, orange and/or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 T. sesame seeds, preferably toasted
• Cilantro for garnish
• Serve with tortilla chips

Directions

1. Combine soy sauce, lime juice, rice vinegar, Sriracha, sesame oil and ginger in a medium bowl. This dressing can be made ahead of time, or the day before, but not added to the tuna.
2. Fifteen minutes before serving, cut the tuna into 1/2" cubes, and add tuna and chopped peppers to the dressing and toss to coat. Allow to sit in refrigerator for up to 15 minutes. 
3. Remove from fridge, pour any significant excess dressing, leaving only a small amount remaining in bottom. Re-toss the tuna and peppers with the dressing.
4. Top with sesame seeds and cilantro for garnish.
5. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.

* You can stretch this recipe to give a little more bang for your buck by bulking up the tuna with more bell peppers. This way, you can increase the serving size without increasing the pricey tuna or sacrificing flavor.