Tuna and avocado tartar

I salute the people from the posh supermarket for making my life so much easier by selling small jars of toasted sesame seeds. They also make me quite a bit poorer but I'm very willing to pay the price! So much better than buying a huge bag of the stuff, at least half of which will have to be tossed because it turns rancid long before I could use it up. (As it happened in this household very recently.)

This tuna and avocado tartar is somewhere in between Jamie Oliver's, my very dear friend M.'s version (who learnt to make this from a friend and a talented chef but using salmon and not tuna) and the one I sometimes eat for lunch at a japanese restaurant. Except I don't go there now because tuna tartar and a bowl of rice require a 45-minute wait. The avocado makes it velvety-smooth and quite filling which is great when you make this as a meal but you may want to leave it out when serving the tartar as a starter.

Tuna and avocado tartar
Serves 1

• 100g sashimi grade tuna
• half an avocado
• juice of 1 lime
• rice vinegar
• grated ginger
• sesame oil
• salt
• pepper
• toasted sesame seeds
• chives
  

Using a very sharp knife, dice the tuna and the avocado into 1cm-cubes. Put into a small bowl and carefully toss with the lime juice. Add all the other ingredients and taste as you go along until you're happy with the result. It think it's best to go easy with the sesame oil and the ginger, they can be overpowering. M. suggested using coriander and yes, I'm getting used to it but I wasn't feeling brave tonight. Rinse a small bowl with cold water and fill in the tartar, pressing down carefully. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for about twenty minutes. Upturn onto a plate and sprinkle a little more sesame seeds on top. Serve on its own or with a bowl of japanese rice.