EcrosTechWiki | Recipes / Spicy Tuna Tartare

This appetizer appeared as a special on the menu at 224 Boston in Dorchester, Massachusetts, in mid 2021. The description was "avocado, chili aioli, piquillo peppers, sesame, soy, crostini". With this information, I set about reproducing the dish as best I could and came up with what follows.

6 ounces	.....	Sushi-grade tuna
1	.....	Avocado, ripe but firm, peeled
2	.....	Piquillo peppers, drained and seeded
¼ cup	.....	Mayonnaise, good quality, such as Hellmanns
2 teaspoons	.....	Fresh lemon juice
1 large cloves	.....	Garlic, chopped and then pressed
1 teaspoon	.....	Dynasty Thai Chili Garlic Paste, or similar
1 teaspoon	.....	Sesame oil Trader Joe's or similar
½ teaspoon	.....	Soy sauce, Kikkoman less sodium or similar
4 ounces	.....	Crostini, store bought or home made, for serving

Stir the lemon juice, garlic, chili paste, sesame oil and soy sauce into the mayonnaise. It's best to do this an hour or so ahead of time and put it in the refrigerator for the flavors to meld.

For the presentation used at 224 Boston, cut the tuna and avocado into quarter-inch cubes and the piquillo peppers into quarter-inch squares. Stir the tuna and pepper into the mayonnaise mixture and then fold in the avocado, being careful not to mash it. Serve with crostini on the side so that people can assemble their own. If you portion out the tartare onto the crostini before serving, do it at the last possible moment so that they remain crisp.

Other presentations are possible. You could cut the tuna and avocado into thin slices, coat them with the mayonnaise mixture and arrange them alternately across a serving platter. The piquillo peppers could be cut into narrow strips and arranged (or just strewn) on top. Put the crostini along either side and accent with thin lemon slices and a sprig of parsley.