Tuna Carpaccio

For those of you who are squeamish about raw fish, you should probably skip this post. Recently my husband found this recipe while killing time on epicurious.com (which takes up far too much of our time), and recreated it with his own take. The result was an amazingly simple carpaccio with just the right balance of salty and tangy.

alic;">Tuna Carpaccio
(adapted from epicurious.com)

4 oz. fresh sushi-grade tuna small bunch watercress
2 oz. fresh parmesean cheese for grating
1 small bunch chives (or scallions)
4 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar (use the good stuff...a little goes a long way)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


Cut the tuna into about 1-inch squares. Place each square between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap, and flatten with a meat mallet or small fying pan until very thin. Arrange the pieces on a plate, slightly overlapping. Drizzle with half of the oil and vinegar and sprinkle evenly with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.

In a small bowl, combine watercress (arugula would work well too) with remaining oil and vinegar. Toss to combine. Place the watercress salad on top of the tuna in the middle of the plate. Top with shaved parmesean cheese and finish with the diced chives.

Serve alone or with little toasts, crackers - just about anything!