Tuna crudo with shaved vegetables and lime vinaigrette

A flavour explosion that’s as pretty as it is delicious!

Many global cuisines feature raw or barely-cured fish and while I have sampled many different varieties, I keep coming back to Italian-style crudo. This simple preparation features thinly sliced raw fish or seafood (my two favourites are tuna and scallops), bathed in an olive oil and citrus vinaigrette. When preparing crudo this week, I had a hunch that thinly shaved radish and zucchini would be a delicious complement to the tuna and zesty dressing…and I was right! While I often use lemon for my crudo vinaigrette, I decided to switch it up with lime and it was fantastic. I paired this dish with a new wine discovery – La Crema’s 2015 Monterey Chardonnay. The golden-hued, buttery wine had plenty of structure to hold up to both the richness and the acidity of the dish. I like to serve crudo with crostini – check this post for instructions on how to make them (it includes my other favourite tuna crudo recipe). Don’t skip the fresh herbs – they are an essential part of the flavour profile that makes this dish shine.

Ingredients

• 1/4 pound (110 g) thinly sliced ahi tuna
• 2 – 3 medium radishes
• 1 medium zucchini
• 2 tablespoons (30 mL) freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) red pepper flakes or more, to taste
• 3 tablespoons (45 mL) olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) freshly ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon good quality kosher salt (Maldon or fleur de sel)
• 1 teaspoon (5 mL) fresh thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons (10 mL) minced fresh chives

Method

• Keep tuna refrigerated until 10 minutes before you are ready to serve this dish.
• With a mandoline or very sharp knife, slice radishes and zucchini as thinly as possible. Place them in slightly overlapping rows on a platter, leaving room for rows of tuna in between.
• In a jar with a tight lid, combine lime juice and red pepper flakes. Shake to combine, then add oil and shake once more.
• Lay tuna slices out in a single layer on the platter with the vegetables.
• Drizzle the lime vinaigrette over the vegetables and tuna. Sprinkle pepper, salt, thyme leaves and minced chives over top. Let sit 5 minutes then serve with crostini.

Serves 2; can easily be multiplied.