Tuna Tartare from Inn at Little Washington Cookbook

Alan and I spent our 1st wedding anniversary at the Inn at Little Washington in Washington, Virginia. It was an incredible experience and afterwards, bought the cookbook. It's been a while since I've made anything from this one, but we did this tuna tartare over the weekend for a party. Easy to make - just make sure you get the freshest, sushi grade tuna possible.

Marinade:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper

Make the marinade and refrigerate until ready to assemble and serve. This can be made several days in advance.

Tartare:

• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
• 3 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped finely
• 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped finely
• fresh ground pepper to taste

Blend ingredients in a small bowl and set aside until ready to assemble.

• 1 pound very fresh, sushi grade tuna

To make it easier to mince the tuna, put it in the freezer for 15 minutes. Remove and mince, being careful to remove any dark patches or sinew you see.

To Assemble:

• pour enough of the marinade on the tuna to just moisten, mixing well with fork
• sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the tartare mixture and mix
• sprinkle some of the tartare mixture into the bottom of four ramekins; pack the tuna mixture into the ramekins
• unmold the tuna tartare from the ramekin into the center of a small plate; serve with chopsticks and something crispy like wasabi chips

Additional options:

• Use a wasabi mayonnaise as an accompaniment or drizzled lightly on the finished tartare
• Before mincing the fish cut off a slice of a few ounces of the tuna and pound it between wax sheets into wafer thin carpaccio; put that down on the plate, upturning the tartare on top of the carpaccio