Salmon, Tuna and Avocado Tartare

photo by Emilio
This is a dish I consumed at Le Caveau des Arches: a cosy, underground, cave-like restaurant (picture below) in the village of Beaune in Burgundy, France. We ate here on the first and the last night of our trip, and I ordered this dish both times so I could effectively memorize and copy it. I made immediately when we got home (my tartare is pictured above). The trick is, obviously, to use the freshest fish you can find, since you will be eating it basically raw. mmmm.. It's good as a small appetizer, since it is very filling and you can't eat much of it.

Ingredients (for 2 people):
1 fresh tuna steak
1 salmon filet or steak
1 ripe-but-firm avocado
lots of chives, diced
3-4 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
salt pepper
olive oil

Skin and de-bone the fish and cut into tiny cubes. Toss it in a tupperware and set aside. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the last 5 ingredients, to taste. It should turn out like a nice vinaigrette. Mix this in with the fish in the tupperware, close tightly and put in the fridge for an hour or two. The fish will "cook" in the citrus juice and should turn a more opaque color. Taste it at this point and add more of whatever it might need. Get out a ramekin and squish some tartare in there real well, then turn it upside-down, remove the ramekin, and you should get a perfect little tartare tower! You can also make a fusion version using wasabi, sesame and soy-sauce as flavors.

Le Caveau des Arches, foto from website