Saturday night fish: salmon tartar

abril 04, 2009

Saturday night fish: salmon tartar

I love fish tartar and my favorite is tuna tartar. Differently from Rio, where I normally find fresh tuna, Trondheim doesn't have fresh tuna. Tuna is a high seas kind of fish and not a Norwegian type of fish. Hope this does not sound as complain because it is not. There are lots of different and fantastic fish in Norway, as everybody already knows, and I love them too. I make tartar using the freshest salmon one can get and it is just delicious.

Tartar is a French dish slightly similar to Peruvian ceviche and Syrian-Lebanese raw kibe as these dishes are cooked in lime juice but also bears some similarities with Japanese sashimi, specially if served with a soy based Japanese style sauce.

Tartar is a very simple dish, just like sashimi, ceviche and raw kibe and I made it even simpler as I didn't add egg to the mixture. Not all tartar recipes list an egg, but some of them do. I make tartar with nothing but freshly squeezed lime juice, French spring onions, shallots, salt and pepper. You can serve with a creme fraiche or yogurt based sauce but my obsession with Japanese cuisine stops me from eating tartar the French way since I definitely prefer the Japanese soy based sauce with lime juice, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds and more spring onions.

Salmon tartar

250 grams fresh salmon filet
1 tablespoon chopped spring onion (cut in very small pieces)
1 tablespoon chopped shallot (cut in very small pieces)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
salt and pepper

How:

Cut salmon in small dices;

Chop spring onions and shallot. Mix salmon, onions in a glass bowl. Add lime juice, salt and pepper and toss well.

Let the mixture stand for couple of minutes and divide the fish in small potions and serve with white toast or any kind of bread you like.

If you prefer you can slice some cucumber and roll the spoonfuls of tartar with the cucumber and serve them as a roll in a plate with some sauce.

Japanese style sauce

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
4 tablespoons shoyu (Japanese soy sauce)
4 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic
1 teaspoon spring onions
1 teaspoon toasted white sesame seed
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger