Ahi Tuna Poke

This is my second month participating in the Secret Recipe Club.  What is the Secret Recipe Club you ask?  The concept is simple.  A group of food bloggers each get assigned another persons blog...and the assignments are....you guessed it, a secret.  You browse the blog you have been assigned that month and then choose a recipe to make and blog about.  Everyone reveals their posts on the same day.  What I love about the Secret Recipe Club is it is a great way to get know new blogs.  I'm always super excited the day the blog assignments are handed out.  I can't wait to check out my assigned blog and see what it's all about and what tasty dish I might make.

This month I was assigned Mary Anne and Mariel's blog, Feast on the Cheap.  These two very talented ladies are a mother daughter team.  Mary Anne is a professional caterer and Mariel is a writer who contributes regularly to publications like Martha Stewart Living, Self and Redbook and describes herself as a "fledgling foodie".  Feast on the Cheap is all about delicious, affordable homemade food.  Mary Anne and Mariel provide a cost per serving for every recipe and have a wide array of dishes that elevate food to a gourmet status.  I spent quite a bit of time drooling over all the wonderful recipes on their site. It was difficult to choose just one.  Initially I had my eye on New England Clam Chowder, Cheesecake Brownies with Glazed Mixed Berries and Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Mint Glaze.  I have bookmarked all three for future indulgences.  But at the end of day I selected the Ahi Tuna Poke for two reasons.  I knew Hubby would love it and it didn't require me turning on the oven or serving a hot soup on a hot summer day. 

Ahi Poke is a light, delicious and simple appetizer that can be whipped together in no time.  You can serve it with crispy fried wontons, tortilla chips or crisp pita wedges.  I stayed pretty true to the original recipe in terms of the ingredients only making one small change to add in sliced green onions.  I halved the recipe and Hubby and I had it for a light Sunday dinner (recovering from a somewhat heavy lunch).  I used half the ingredients to make a layered mold so I could take a photo.  To make the mold I used a short wide mouthed drinking glass and lined it with plastic wrap.  I took a little liberty with how I layered it in the event that Hubs wasn't a huge fan of the heat from the siracha chile sauce.  I took a small portion of each of the ingredients (ahi, cucumber, tomato, avocado and green onion) and mixed it with the sauce (chile sauce, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and dijon mustard--I omitted the mustard).  That's how the Feast of the Cheap ladies served the entire dish.  But Hubs is not a huge fan of spicy stuff so I only used the spicy mixture in the middle layer.  The rest of the layers were sauce-less.  And I had some extra sauce on the side for those of who like a little more heat (i.e., me).  Turns out Hubby liked the spice!  Now I have a huge bottle of siracha chile sauce to use up.  ;)  This recipe is a keeper!

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the blog see what the other Secret Recipe Club bloggers made this month.


Ahi Tuna Poke
from Feast on the Cheap

Serves 20 appetizer portions

Ahi Mixture:
1 1/2 pounds of sushi grade ahi tuna, chopped
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and chopped
3 avocados pitted, peeled and chopped
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Optional: 2 green onions thinly sliced (this was my addition)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons chili sauce (siracha)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or Tamari sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons mirin wine
1 teaspoon dijon mustard (optional) - I omitted

Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl combine the ahi tuna, cucumber, avocados, tomatoes and green onions (if using).  Pour sauce over the ahi and vegetables and gently stir to evenly coat all the ingredients with the sauce.  Serve with crispy fried wontons, tortilla chips or crisp pita wedges.

Sushi Nachos

Sushi? Nachos? Hmmm. A strange combination. This unlikely pairing has become a favorite at my house. I will admit up front that I did not dream up this delicious concoction. I got the idea from our favorite local sushi restaurant. Then our favorite sushi place closed for an extensive period for remodeling, thus cutting off the life line to the infamous nachos. What to do? I think you know the answer.

Luckily around the same time Hubby and I were craving our nachos, we discovered a great local butcher. A good old fashioned butcher that happens to carrier sashimi grade ahi tuna. The moment I spotted it in the butcher's case I knew nachos were in our near future.

So what is a sushi nacho you ask? A crispy fried wonton topped with raw ahi tuna, a dollop of avocado cream (i.e. guacamole), slivers of green onion and a few drops of soy sauce.


Ok, so there is no cheese in these nachos, but trust me you won't miss it! Cause I'm thinking ahi and cheese is a little weird.

But avocado and ahi tuna are, in my humble opinion, a culinary match made made in heaven. If you like either of these ingredients, try this dish! It's easy to make, and will make you feel like you are eating like a queen (or a king) in the comfort of your own home. Or you could really impress your friends and serve this as an appetizer at your next gathering.

Ahi tuna runs about $12.99 a pound at our butcher and Hubby and I made dinner out of 3/4 pound. Supplemented with a salad with fresh ginger dressing and you have a light, yet filling meal. The wonton wrappers (or in this case the potsticker wrappers) can be found in your local grocery store in the cold section containing asian and other ethnic products. And you can use the left over wrappers to make your own ravioli. Hopefully the subject of a post in the near future...

Sushi Nachos:
Serves 2 for dinner or 4-6 for appetizers

12 wonton or potsticker wrappers, fried in vegetable oil (flip after 10 seconds, these brown incredibly fast...in under 30 seconds total)
3/4 - 1 pound of sashimi grade ahi tuna, diced into 1/4 inch chunks
3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce for drizzling
3 green onions, thinly sliced including white and green parts

Avocado Cream:
3 ripe avocados, diced
1/4 cup thinly sliced white or yellow onion
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp freshly cracked pepper
Juice of 1 small lime
1 heaping Tablespoon of sour cream
6-8 dashes of tobasco (optional)

Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. I use my mini prep for this. You can adjust the salt, pepper and lime juice to your taste.

To assemble place a dollop of avocado cream on the fried wonton wrapper. Top with about a teaspoon of ahi, another dab of avocado cream, thinly sliced green onions and drizzle with soy sauce to taste.