Tuna, Avocado Tartare is an elegant, fresh and colourful tartare made of lightly spiced tuna, cilantro-lime marinated avocado and juicy watermelon for a fresh bite!
It’s hot, I don’t know about you, but here in Spain, it’s just hot outside this summer. No way I’ll cook anything on the stove for a while… I need freshness and light; I need easy-breezy, so there is no better recipe for hot summer nights than this Tuna & Avocado Tartare, right?
Better Safe than Sorry
Whether beef, salmon or tuna, Tartare is so easy to make. Super delicious, BUT being made with raw meat/fish, you need to be extra careful with its manipulation and the quality of the product.
Tartare’s Golden Rules
- Ask your favourite Fishmonger if he does have a sashimi-grade fish; they usually cost a tad more but are well worth it!
- Come prepared at the FishMonger with a bag that keeps the temperature stable, plus an ice pack if it’s a long way back home.
- Buy the fish last minute so it doesn’t warm up while you shop around, buy meat/fish, then go straight home.
- The first thing home, an obvious one, is in the fridge right away!
- Before manipulating the fish, CLEAN YOUR HANDS; this is the most important rule.
- Be sure to have a clean cutting mat and knife.
- The lime marinade will help disinfect the surface of the fish if there are any pathogens left, so give it a good 30 minutes in the fridge to let the marinade make its magic.
- When ready to serve, take the fish from the fridge; don’t let it on the counter too long before serving.
This way, you’ll be safe to enjoy this fresh summer bite.
A Tuna Story
I usually don’t do personal stories here, but just because this one is close to my heart… My astrological sign is Pisces; I spent my childhood in the pool doing synchronized swimming, then I moved closer to my element by taking diving classes. Today, I do love diving when my wallet permits. The last time I went diving was up north of Barcelona, at the far end of the national park of Cap Creus. That’s where I’ve added the most magical encounter of my diving career; a majestic tuna looking right at me.
Well, they are a smaller type of tuna living in the Mediterranean Sea called Bonito. He was about 1.5 metres long, floating with agility higher than us in the deep blue sea, looking at me through those big round eyes. He was probably judging us, humans, doing our bubbles and moving quite uneasily underwater. Probably thinking we weren’t from around here.
I couldn’t believe my eyes, a freaking tuna was looking right at me! I’ve never heard of anyone seeing one while diving since it’s usually a deep-sea fish. That magical moment lasted a millisecond before he vanished. I tried to show the fish to my buddy, and “poof,” he was gone. You know when you witness such a fantastic thing and are so high for hours after that… Since then, I’ve always considered this unforgettable encounter when I eat tuna… such a beautiful, elegant fish under and over water.
Other Tartare or Ceviche Recipes
So let’s do this tartare!
Tuna & Avocado Tartare
Ingredients
Tuna
- 250 g fresh tuna
- 1/2 lime
- 1/4 tsp wasabi paste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Avocado
- 1 avocado (cut into small cubes (1cm))
- 1 hand cilantro leaves (finely chopped or mashed in a mortar)
- 1/2 lime
- salt and pepper
Watermelon
- 250 g watermelon (cut into small cubes (1cm))
Instructions
- Start by mixing all the ingredients of the tuna tartare and let rest in the fridge for 30 to 40 minutes.
- During that time, cut the watermelon and add a sprinkle of salt on it to let the water come out, leave in a sieve, over a bowl in the fridge.
- 10 minutes before serving make the avocado mix.
- In the centre of a plate, add a cookie cutter about 10 cm diameter, fill with a layer of watermelon, topped with the avocado mix and finally the tuna.
- Gently take off the cookie cutter and garnish with black sesame seeds and cilantro leaf.
27 Comments
What a spectacular dish to serve! Love the flavour combinations you have chosen. I know what you mean about being high for hours after one of those magical moments. I felt the same way the first time I saw a cougar. Our eyes met for what seemed like a very long time, and then he was gone, into the forest. I’ll never forget it!
Cougar! Wow! I would have adrenaline from fear also going through my veins if I would see one! But I’m sure it was magical! Nothing like a pure encounter with nature!
I love your buying and handling tips for raw meat! It’s so true, you cannot cheap out and you can’t take it lightly — respect the meat!
This recipe is stunning — I want to dive right into it. Omg. Nothing beats a delicious and citrusy tuna tartar. And wasabi!! <3 They never give you enough of this good stuff at restaurants. I swear, I could eat piles of it. Haha. I guess the only answer is to make some myself 😉
It looks so delicious! I should try it. Thank you for inspiration 🙂 I cannot wait to taste it.
Loving the tuna / watermelon combo! I used to have to make tartare and ceviche of all sorts at work, but I have never made it at home for some reason. I’ll need to give this a shot at home, it’s perfect for a light lunch or afternoon snack after all!
What an amazing diving story! Incredible. I love the addition of watermelon to this tartare – adds a bit of crispy freshness and texture to this perfect summer dish.
i have tried it yesterday and it was so yummy,delicious and fresh,,,a pure healthy meal it is
Glad you liked it;) nothing like a fresh summer bite!
Yum! I love everything about this dish — the vibrancy of the flavours, the simplicity of the recipe and the elegant presentation. Your tips about buying sashimi grade fish are great! I’m going to keep them on hand this summer. Thanks for another gorgeous recipe!
Thanks!
Wonderful combination of ingredients! I can almost taste it already 😀 I’ve got some leftover compressed-and-grilled watermelon in the fridge from yesterday’s BBQ, I think I’m going to shadow-hop (the only way to move around town without being burned into a crisp right now…) to my usual fishmonger and see if he’s got a nice piece of tuna for me~ I really hate living so far from the sea at times like these…
It’s really hot those days! I wish I could just teleport myself down to Australia or Chile to get just a breath of fresh air! The tartare should help also;)
This sounds delicious! The weather is also starting to warm up where I live (Eastern Washington), so this would be perfect for one of those lazy evenings when you don’t want to turn the stove or the oven on. I don’t have access to fresh tuna though. Do you think this would be good with fresh halibut or salmon?
Why not! I m sure it would be great!
THIS LOOKS AMAZING!
Thanks!
these looks incredible and I love the watermelon in there. i would love to do these now in the summer while it is in season and also very refreshing with this heat.
Ultra fresh!
These look absolutely delicious I live in a fairly landlocked region so fresh seafood is rare to us but you better believe on my next vacation to the coast this will be on the menu.
Glad you like it! Til then make yourself a nice beef tartare with local products;)
What a fantastic recipe, I must confess to being a huge fan of tartares, ceviches and sashimis, and am just loving the colours in this! And I can totally dig the tuna story; on one of my very first dives in the Philippines some 20+ years ago, I came face to face with a hammerhead that was just cooly studying us!
I love that reality check they give us… like… we don’t belong underwater! 😊
Wow this looks so refreshing and elegant. This would make a lovely summer lunch!
Oh my goodness I need to try this ASAP, it sounds amazing!! I love how fresh it is, and the addition of the watermelon is such a fun twist. Trying this instead of our normal poke bowls next time!!
Summer delight for sure
Taste cool, true that!! Very nice photo, good recipe, thanks for sharing 🙂
my pleasure;)