TUNA TARTARE

I love tartare, beef or tuna, both work for me. When I see it on a menu I just know I will end up ordering it! But luckily for me I didn't need to be in any restaurant this weekend in order to indulge in some delicious tuna tartare. My friend Kate came over Saturday night with a little treat from her dad's birthday party - tuna tartare! I was so excited to try it, and let me tell you - it was a hit! When committing to making such a delicious dish, it is important that you do get really good quality tuna steak because that is the star of the dish and really needs to be top notch. The flavouring of the dish was quite asian but with diced avocado in there as well you couldn't go wrong. Creamy in a sense yet the diced tuna still holds its own. This tartare was an appetizer to their main dinner and was hoovered! I'm lucky I got some before it was all gone. So if you are looking for a great entertaining recipe that is sure to WOW your guests, this my friends is it!

Recipe by Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) and one of my personal favs!
** Note do not save leftovers for more than 24 hours

Total time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 3 3/4 pounds very fresh tuna steak
- 1 1/4 cups olive oil
 - 5 limes, zest grated
- 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder
- 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
nocoupon- 2 tablespoons hot red pepper sauce
- 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/4 cups minced scallions, white and green parts (12 scallions)
- 3 1/4 tablespoons minced fresh jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
- 5 ripe Hass avocados
- 1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, optional

Directions:
-Cut the tuna into 1/4-inch dice and place it in a very large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, wasabi, soy sauce, hot red pepper sauce, salt, and pepper. Pour over the tuna, add the scallions and jalapeno, and mix well.
- Cut the avocados in half, remove the seed, and peel. Cut the avocados into 1/4-inch dice. Carefully mix the avocado into the tuna mixture.
- Add the toasted sesame seeds, if using, and season to taste.
- Allow the mixture to sit in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour for the flavors to blend. Serve on crackers

photo credit: food network

GUACAMOLE

Guacamole has got to be one of the best dips around, and this week was wonderful having the traditional Mexican dip freshly made each day! Guacamole is a avocado based dip from Mexico which was traditionally made by mashing ripe avocados in a molcajete (mortar and pestle) with lime juice and salt. Today there are many variations on the dip, but no matter what way you make it, the end result is delish! Guacamole was first made by the Aztecs in the 1500's and the word is derived from an Aztec dialect, ahuacamolli: ahuacatl = avocado and molli = sauce.

Here is my variation on guacamole:

Ingredients:

- 4 ripe avocados
- 1/2 red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup finely diced purple onion
- 2 tbsp freshly chopped cilantro
- juice of 2 limes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp sour cream
- 1 clove crushed garlic

Directions:

- Peel and dice avocados
- Chop and dice remaining ingredients
- Place in bowl with sour cream, limes, salt and pepper
- Mash until creamy, but still chunky
- Serve with tortilla chips or warm pita!

BON APPETIT! 

photo credits: google images