Skip to content

Yummy Tuna Tartare with Pomegranates – No Cooking Necessary!

View Recipe

Yummy Tuna Tartare with Pomegranates – No Cooking Necessary

After a long day teaching and training kids and managing their activities as well my own, I sometimes feel like an easy light meal where there are no hard to clean pots and pans. I know most of you feel the same after some days coming home from work or tending to your little ones. Your family needs nourishment, but you feel like you need a shot of vitamin B6 just to move much less cook for your family.

Tuna Tartare Ingredients

Tuna Tartare Ingredients

One of my friends, Cheryl Lange, Bonnie Plants Executive Assistant to the Vice President, works very hard. Although she LOVES her job, she needs to eat. She is so great at everything, but let me know that she did not know how to cook. She spends her time working twelve-hour days with a commute of two hours leaving her very little time to learn to cook. She has the best idea of blogging about food that requires no cooking (with heat anyway).

I was honored that Cheryl asked if she and I could “cook” a recipe that a California chef had given her for an upcoming blog that she is working on. Of course my response was a resounding “Yes!” and I surprised her with a recipe of my own that I wanted to teach her to make.

Cooking with Cheryl Lange

Cooking with Cheryl Lange

Our pomegranate trees are doing fantastically right now and I have been incorporating them into just about everything. I have made them in muffins, had them on pancakes, ground them for vinaigrettes and sauces, and put them in salads. As I was thinking about this “no heat” method of cooking, tartare came to mind. What would tartare taste like with pomegranates? Well…GREAT!

The tuna in this dish is marinated in a citrus-based mixture of limes and lemons. I added an orange for a more balanced flavor. The citrus causes the proteins in the seafood to become denatured appearing to cook it. You need to use very fresh tuna for this recipe. Adding the pomegranates to the fish gives an extra burst of flavor and texture to the dish. I usually serve this with avocados on the side.

Not only is this dish easy to prepare (takes about 5 to 10 minutes), it is filled with healthy Omega 3 Fatty Acids and the anti-oxidants of pomegranate seeds. If you serve it alongside of a few avocado slices, you will be full of power foods. This dish is sure to energize!

Tuna Tartare with Pomegranates

Tuna Tartare with Pomegranates

 

Tuna Tartare

 3/4 pound very fresh tuna
Grated zest of 1 lime
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
3 Tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
8 dashes Tabasco sauce
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1 teaspoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
1/4 cup pomegranate berries plus 4 tablespoons for garnish
 1. Dice tuna into 1/4 inch cubes and place in a bowl.
2. In a non-reactive bowl, combine the citrus juices and gently whisk in the olive oil. Add the garlic, Tabasco sauce, salt, pepper, scallions, jalapeno seeds, and pomegranate berries.
3. Pour vinaigrette over the tuna and gently incorporate.
4. Place mixture in refrigerator for one hour.
5. Remove from refrigerator and divide the tartare evenly among four plates. I usually place the tartare inside of a round cookie cutter for a pretty presentation. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of the extra pomegranate seeds over the tartare and serve with Pomegranate Dressing or an extra drizzle of good olive oil.
Pomegranate Dressing:
1/2 cup pomegranates
1/2 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Place pomegranates into the mortar and pound them with the pestle until they have been crushed. Add the oil, salt, and pepper and continue to grind the ingredients until they are well combined. Strain the ingredients through a sieve over a bowl. divide dressing among the four plates and spoon on top of the tuna tartare. You can use a food processor instead of the mortar and pestle for combining the ingredients. Enjoy!!

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *