Salmon and Tuna Tartare

This fish dish is easy to plate and it will be the showstopping appetizer your family will love.

Last Erev Pesach, when we were all knee deep in eggshells and potato starch, our phones pinged. We all wiped our hands and used the excuse to take a minute to sit down and have a look. 

It was Shaindy and she was very excited to share the appetizer that she just came up with. “We must put it on BCP next year,” she said.  We all squinted and enlarged the image using two fingers, trying to figure out if Shaindy simply posted a photo of a magazine Yom Tov supplement or if this was her table. 

After a few seconds, we realized it was indeed her table. The appetizer looked so magazine-worthy and upscale, yet Shaindy typed “it was so easy to throw together!!” 

A year later, on a Wednesday in February, we recreated this dish, with exact measurements and then found ourselves digging in, quite literally, into a delicious, refreshing dish. Right there and then we knew you would love this gorgeous, simple yet incredibly delicious Yom Tov worthy appetizer. 

This recipe yields 3 gorgeous plates. We like to serve all three on the table as a shared appetizer (one plate is too big for one person; each one of these feeds about 2 people. Also, there may be a few people at the table who don’t like raw fish.) 

Season both the tuna and the salmon with a tbsp each of olive oil and some salt to taste (about ¼ teaspoon). Season the cubed avocado with only salt. 

Using a peeler, carefully peel long ribbons of cucumber. 

Place 2-3 ribbons of cucumber in 3 deli containers, overlapping the ribbons to form a ring along the whole container. 

Place the cubed avocado in the center of the container, leaving room on either side. With the help of a spoon, fill one side of the container with tuna and the other side with salmon.

Press down so it’s tightly packed. 

At this point you can refrigerate the appetizer until ready to serve, up to a few hours before the meal, not more. 

To prepare the pesto, combine the frozen basil, olive oil, and salt. Store in a container until ready to use. 

When ready to plate, run a knife along the edge of the container to loosen the dish. 

Place a plate or a shallow bowl over the container and flip to release. You might need to use your hands to fix the cucumber ring in place. 

Mix the pesto once more. Using a spoon, drip some pesto around the fish. 

When ready to serve, drizzle with the freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste. Serve with matzah or Pesach crackers. 

Gorgeous!