Europe Meets Latin America with This French-inspired Ceviche
By Liliana Moyano for Shine Latina
While touring the Loire Valley in France last month, I stayed at a chateau-turned-hotel in the town of Tours. When I asked the concierge for restaurant recommendations, he immediately picked up the phone and made reservations at the Relais, a restaurant in the nearby town of Chenonceaux.
After the 30-minute drive through the chateaus and wineries, I reached an orchard in full growth which surrounded the Relais. Without a doubt, this promised to be a delicious and traditionally French meal. To my surprise the first dish that arrived to the table, as a courtesy from the chef, was a raw tuna salad covered with avocado spread served in a delicate shot glass with a tiny spoon.
The first bite was heavenly; I couldn't resist asking the waitress if she could give me a rough list of the ingredients used in the dish. She mentioned tuna, avocado, lime and scallions, which were evident in the recipe, but she couldn't tell me anything else. I enjoyed the rest of the meal, but couldn't get my mind off that amazing tuna tartar and avocado combination, so reminiscent of the ceviches of my childhood.
Turn this appetizer into a full meal by adding my Colombian-style coconut rice.
When I arrived home after my trip, I went to the supermarket and found fresh tuna. I started picking up
ingredients that in my head would work for my recreation of the French dish. I ended up with avocado, lime, purple onions, scallions, ponzu sauce and fried onions, like the ones used to make green bean casserole. The end result was a delicious ceviche-type tuna, covered with avocado spread and topped with crunchy onions. The harmony of this recipe is absolutely incredible. I used a regular 8 oz. glass to serve the dish, which gave this amazing appetizer an elegant and sexy presentation.
Ingredients
(2 servings)
1 lb. fresh tuna
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons ponzu sauce
½ purple onion, finely sliced
3 oz. chives, chopped
1 Hass avocado
1 tablespoon fried onions (I used French's brand)
Sea salt to taste
Directions
Cut the tuna into small chunks and place in a glass container. Pour the juice of one lime and one tablespoon of ponzu sauce over the tuna. Place the mix in the fridge for 15 minutes while the juices blend well. Remove from the fridge, and add the sliced onions and chives. On a cutting board, smash the
avocado and add one tablespoon of ponzu sauce and salt to taste.
Serve in a transparent glass placing the tuna mix at the bottom, the avocado on top and garnish with French's brand fried onions.
Notes
Ponzu is a type of sauce used in Asian cuisine. It has a light soy, tart flavor, and it can be found at the supermarkets next to the soy sauce. If you cannot find this sauce, you can mix one ounce of rice vinegar with one ounce of soy sauce, and it will resemble the flavor of ponzu.
