Spicy Tuna Tartare with Blistered Serrano Hot Sauce and Avocado Relish

This is an old favorite that just keeps giving back. We ate this at Mesa Grill (Bobby Flay's NYC restaurant) back in 2006. He was kind enough to provide me the recipe and we have made it a few times since then.

Tartare is a beautiful thing whether its beef or seafood. If you are a bit squeamish about raw protein preparations, DON'T BE. But, if you insist on being a close-minded boring person (but have considered being an exciting, adventurous person), this is a wonderful introduction to the beauty of raw tuna. Lots of flavors going on here, nice spicy kick from the sauce which manages to be sweet and spicy at the same time. Citrusy avocado relish cools the whole thing down. The tuna is meaty and rich and has a nice zing to it, some saltiness from the capers, along with some smokiness from the chipotles (pronounced 'chee-POAT-lay' and NOT 'chip-OL-tee'. (Note: this annoys the hell out of me when people say it the wrong way)

Anyhow, the greatest thing about this dish is it's SIMPLICITY. There is almost no cooking. It's really just cutting things up and mixing them together. The cooking, such as it is, has you merely throwing some stuff in a pan in the oven for 15 minutes, then into a blender. That's it.

MAKE THIS NOW and use the best tuna you can find (sashimi-grade if you can find it)

TUNA TARTARE
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon pureed canned chipotles
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. tuna, cut into 1/4" -dice
¼ cup capers, drained
¼ cup scallion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper

BLISTERED SERRANO HOT SAUCE
1 small red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
10 serrano chiles, stem removed and cut in half
¼ cup canola oil, plus 2 T
Salt
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons honey

AVOCADO RELISH
1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and finely diced
3 tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon canola oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped

TUNA TARTARE
Whisk together mustard, chipotle and oil in a medium bowl. Fold in the remaining ingredients until combined; season with salt and pepper.

BLISTERED SERRANO HOT SAUCE
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine onions and serranos in a small sauté pan, toss with 2 tablespoons of canola oil and season with salt. Roast in the oven until onions are soft and serranos are golden brown and blistered, approximately 15-20 minutes.

Transfer onions and serranos to a blender, add the vinegar, cilantro, honey and salt and blend until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the remaining ¼ cup of oil and blend until emulsified.

AVOCADO RELISH
Gently combine all ingredients in a bowl.