It was hot this past weekend, like too-hot-for-jeans-hot. But I still wore them, I could not bare my pale skin just yet. So when we were invited to our friend’s house for a BBQ, I knew I had to make something “summery.” My brother-in-law, Conor, had me try this awesome tuna dish he made the other night; I had just a taste, but I was thinking about that darn tuna the entire next day. It was seared tuna with avocado, fresh lime juice, scallions, hot sauce, etc. A lot of those items rank high on my favorite food list.
I wanted to bring an app to the BBQ, so I did not need to go crazy buying the 2 pounds of fresh tuna that the recipe called for, so I bulked up on the avocados–poor man style! As it turns out, I went to Whole Foods to buy the fish and as I approached the counter I realized there was no tuna. I made my way to the sushi counter and demanded some ahi tuna. They sliced off a piece that would be the equivalent of 12 nigiri pieces and I was on my way. The “salad” came together nicely being citrusy, slightly spicy, fresh, and smokey. This will probably be my go-to summer app. Brian actually said the dish tasted like “Florida.” And while I’m not exactly sure what that means, I took it as a compliment.
Grilled tuna/avocado dip
adapted from barefoot contessa at home
Serves 4 -6 (appetizer)
zest of 2 limes
juice of 4 small limes
2 tsp soy sauce (low sodium)
10-15 dashes Tabasco sauce
a splash of honey
1/2 red onion very small dice
2 scallions (white and green parts) – minced
1/2 tsp prepared wasabi
4 -5 ripe avocados – medium dice
1/2 pound of fresh ahi tuna (see note above)
olive oil
s and p
crackers (I used the pita crackers from Trader Joe’s)
In a bowl whisk together the lime zest, lime juice, soy sauce, Tabasco sauce, honey, red onion, scallion, with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Season with s and p. Set aside.
Prepare the tuna by brushing the olive oil on both sides as well as salt and pepper. Sear the fish (just slightly) on a charcoal grill ~2 minutes on ea. side. Let rest for 5 minutes, then roughly chop. You want the center to be raw.
In a medium bowl add the avocado (salted), the tuna, and then slowly add in the marinade (to taste). I used about 70 % of the marinade. I used the remaining marinade as a salad dressing the next day.
Serve with crackers.
