Tuna Tartare Tostadas
a fresh and delicious meal for end of summer
Fresh, crunchy, and full of flavor — these tostadas are perfect for a casual mid-week dinner or a fun weekend lunch in your backyard!
A few weeks ago we ventured out to the Flying Fish patio for their amazing fish and chips. After our indulgent lunch, we stepped into their little fish market and saw they had just gotten some beautiful albacore tuna, we couldn’t resist!
We really wanted to turn our albacore into something delicious, but we weren’t feeling the seared tuna vibe! I called Ana—my younger sister who is also a chef and my best friend—and asked her to help me out with fun ideas. Honestly, this has been the story of time during covid for me: I call my sister on the regular for dinner ideas. Her first question is always “what do you have in the fridge?”. At this point, it has become both a convenience and a soothing presence during these unstable times, to know that I can call her and spend an hour on the phone with her basically walking me through how to bring something delicious to our table at the end of a long day working from home.
Think of this recipe as a virtual postcard from my sister and I and a reminder of the good bits that have come with the craziness of the pandemic—for us, it has been family closeness, even miles and miles apart!
How do you keep your loved ones close?
Stay safe and enjoy the bounty of late summer!
Alba
Tuna Tartare Tostadas
Servings: 6
Ingredients
.5 lb sushi grade tuna
1 avocado
1 tbsp chives, minced
1 tbsp cilantro leaves, finely minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, finely minced
2 tsp garlic paste
red pepper flakes, optional *
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
kosher salt, to taste
black sesame seeds, optional
2 small beets, thinly sliced, optional
6 tostadas or small (taco size) tortillas **
Method
Tuna tartare
In a bowl, mix olive oil, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, ginger, garlic paste, and chili flakes if using. Whisk until combined, cover and refrigerate.
Cut the tuna into 1/4-inch cubes and place it in a large bowl.
Cut the avocado into 1/4-inch cubes and add it to the tuna, along with the chives and cilantro leaves. Carefully mix until combined.
Add the soy sauce mixture to the tuna and mix carefully.
Add salt, if needed.
Assemble the tostadas
Place a tostada on a plate, add a few beet slices, add tuna tartare, and top off with black sesame seeds.
Enjoy!
Notes
* Red pepper flakes are optional, if you want to add a little kick! We ground a couple of dried piquín peppers and put them in instead of traditional chili flakes for more heat.
** You can find tostadas in most Mexican markets, or you can make your own oven-baked tostadas by placing taco-sized tortillas onto a baking tray, brushing them with some olive oil and sprinkling some salt. Bake them at 300 °F for about 20 minutes, make sure to check at the 10-minute mark for doneness, tortillas should be hard and slightly brown.
Don’t want to make your own tostadas? Serve with tortilla chips, over rice or greens!
