Spicy Tuna Tartare with Avocado Sake Soup

When I'm planning for a dinner party, I like think about who my guests and what their tastes are. My plan is not to serve them what they have had in the past but rather to make a twist on those flavors and offer a new variation they may not have experience before. Knowing that I would have a room full of sushi fans made me think of the tuna tartare- but what would the twist be? My friend Lesley is a huge fan of avocados so those needed to be worked in. Ultimately I came up with the spicy tuna tartare with the avocado soup chaser. True to form, I made up the spicy tuna recipe on the fly and didn't write the recipe down until a week later, so I'm guesstimating on some of the amounts I used. I will make this again and come back and refine this if needed (if you make and find the taste slightly off - please write and let me know!)

This was a great hit and fun course. Just use whatever small shot glasses you have to serve the soup or if you want to turn this into a bigger course, serve a larger bowl of soup and float the cucumber-topped tartare on top! Just think about who your guests are, have fun with your dinner, wow your friends and be fat and happy!


Avocado Soup

1 ripe avocado
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbls sake
1 garlic clove
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup lime juice

Place all ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth. You may need more or less liquid, depending on your avocado. You can either use more or less buttermilk, or add in some water for a less heavy soup. If you're not a sake fan or if kids will be eating with you, simply omit the sake.


Tuna Tartare

Fresh Tuna (1 lb)
1/2 cup chopped scallions
1 tbls toasted sesame seeds
zest of 3 limes
1/2 cup lime juice
2 tsp wasabi powder
1 tbls sesame oil
1 tbls chili oil
1 tbls Sriracha sauce
olive oil to emulsify (roughly 1/4 cup)

Chop the tuna and scallions, add the sesame seeds and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients and whisk while slowly drizzling in olive oil. Pour dressing over tuna ( you may not need all the dressing, so only add half at a time), toss to coat. Refrigerate for an hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld. Serve atop a cucumber slice.