California Avocado Tuna Tartare with Avocado Aguachile

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A photo an avocado tuna tarte with avocado aguachile

This is a lovely spring dish to serve on and around Mother’s Day. Executive Chef Dane Blom created this gorgeous small plate for California Avocado Month (June). It’s also a beautiful presentation for a light lunch or brunch.

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Serves: 8

Ingredients
Instructions

Pickled Ramps: 4 oz. ramps, ends and leaves trimmed 1/2 cup rice vinegar 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup sugar Tartare Dressing (yield ½ cup): 1 clove garlic, microplaned 1 -in. knob fresh ginger, microplaned 1/4 cup grapeseed oil 2 Tbsp. lime juice 1 Tbsp. white soy sauce 1 Tbsp. sesame oil 1 1/2 tsp. fish sauce 1/4 Fresno pepper, brunoise Tuna Tartare: 8 oz. tombo tuna 1 bunch chives, minced 1 shallot, brunoise 1/2 cup small dice fresh pineapple 2 ripe, fresh California Avocado, peeled and pitted Avocado Aguachile (yield 1 ¾ cups): 2 Granny Smith apples, cored 1 bunch cilantro with stems 1 jalapeño, seeded 1 ripe, fresh California Avocado, peeled and pitted 1/4 cup lime juice 1/4 tsp. xanthan gum Assembly: 1/2 cup small dice fresh pineapple Fresno chile, thinly sliced into rings Micro mint Micro cilanto Chive blossoms

Pickled Ramps:

Cut the ramps into 1 ½-in. lengths. Put them into a glass jar.
Heat the vinegar, water and sugar over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Pour it over the ramps.
Let them cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.

Tartare Dressing:

Whisk together the ingredients. Taste for seasoning.
Cover and refrigerate.

Tuna Tartare:

Mince tuna into a fine paste.
In a bowl, combine the tuna paste, chives, shallot and pineapple with about 1/4 cup Tartare Dressing. The mixture should hold together. Add more dressing as desired.
Put a layer of plastic wrap on a work surface. Very thinly slice ¼ avocado and shingle the slices widthwise on the plastic.
Form ¼ of the tartare (about 3 ½ oz.) into a cylinder on top of the avocado. Carefully bring up the long sides of plastic to roll the tartare into a tight cylinder. Press in the ends to seal and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Repeat with the remaining tartare.

Avocado Aguachile:

Using a high-speed blender or food processor, blend the apples, cilantro, jalapeno, avocado and lime juice until smooth.
Pass the sauce through a chinois and whisk in the xanthan gum to thicken, if necessary. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon.
Cover and refrigerate. Before using, whisk and check the consistency, adding more xanthan gum if needed.

Assembly:

Trim both ends of one tuna roll and unwrap it from the plastic. Lay it in a shallow bowl.
Garnish with some of the diced pineapple, sliced Fresno chile, micro herbs and chive blossoms.
Pour about ¼ cup Avocado Aguachile around the tartare. Garnish with some Pickled Ramps.

Serving Suggestion: Accompany with some milk bread to sop up the sauce and a light sparkling wine or champagne.

*Large avocados are recommended for this recipe. A large avocado averages about 8 ounces. If using smaller or larger size avocados adjust the quantity accordingly.

Did You Know?

It’s actually easy to create an avocado rose. If you are setting out a spread of appetizers, add a beautiful avocado rose to elevate the appeal. Or if you are looking for more casual appetizers try these California Avocado snack recipes.