Sesame and Ginger Salmon Tartar

 

Fresh seafood is so delicious, there are so many ways you can prepare a beautiful piece of super fresh fish. One of my favourite “fancy” ways of preparing salmon is salmon tartar. Not only is it a beautiful and presentable dish if you are having guests over, but it is so simple to make and healthy. The most important thing to remember for this dish is that you absolutely need super fresh fish. Go to a store that specializes in seafood for this, or ask the person working at your grocery store seafood counter if the salmon is fresh enough to eat raw, and always make sure the piece of fish you are using doesn’t smell, like , well… fish, and has firm flesh. Another important thing to remember is to always keep your fish cold while preparing this dish, if you are leaving it out on the counter make sure to have your bowl of chopped up fish on ice. I serve this particular tartar with some simple butter leaf lettuce cups and toasted baguette. You could even eat it with a simple salad. This recipe makes two large dinner sized portions, or four small appetizer portions…or one portion, I’m not judging!

Ingredients:

For the Tartar:
▪ 1 6-8oz filet of salmon, chopped into a small dice
▪ 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
▪ 2 tbsp fresh chives, finely chopped
▪ 1 tbsp sesame seeds
▪ 1/2 a lime, juice
▪ 2 tsp sesame oil
▪ 2 tsp hot chilli sauce of your choice (add more or less, depending on your desired level of spice.)
▪ 1 tbsp cilantro stems
▪ 2 tsp soy sauce
▪ Salt to taste (soy sauce may be salty enough, add salt only if you feel it needs more seasoning)

For Serving:
▪ 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
▪ 1/2 baguette, thinly sliced
▪ 12 whole leaves of butter (Boston) lettuce
▪ 2 tsp sesame seeds
▪ 1/2 lime, quartered

Directions:
▪ In a mixing bowl add grated ginger, minced chives cilantro stem, and sesame seeds, set aside.
▪ Slice 1/2 a baguette into thin rounds, making crostini shapes. Place the bread in a 450 degree oven for about 5 minutes, to dry toast them. Once they are golden and crisp remove from oven and set aside. It is important to note that these toast really fast and can burn easily, so keep a close eye on your bread.
▪ Separate about 12 whole leaves of lettuce, wash and set aside.
▪ On a clean cutting board, chop salmon into a small dice, adding the fish to the bowl with the ginger, sesame, cilantro stem and chives. Once the fish is all cut and in the bowl add hot chilli sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and lime juice. Mix well to combine, taste and adjust seasoning.
▪ Top the Tartar with cilantro leaves and sesame seeds as garnish, serve with toasted baguette, lettuce cups and lime wedges. Enjoy!