Watermelon and Basil Salmon Tartare

Author and Photographer: Alex Wang

After what seemed like the most amount of snow I’ve ever seen this winter, Chicago is finally warming up, and on some days it feels like summer, which I must admit I’m really looking forward to at this point. I got the idea from the classic summertime pairing of watermelon and basil. Originally I had been trying to make a watermelon dressing for a salad, and then I noticed that when I blended the watermelon with olive oil, it had the exact same color as salmon. For this tartare, I find that less fatty salmon is preferable to fatty salmon, because the fat has a tendency to congeal and make the tartare slimy. It is also easier to cut the salmon if you start with frozen salmon rather than allowing it to thaw too much. You could use a meat grinder to grind the salmon, but I find that the texture hand-chopped tartare is generally superior. If you want a more fancy dish for a dinner party, you can follow the serving suggestion listed in the recipe, but it works equally well as an appetizer for a larger grill party if you serve it as an appetizer with unsalted corn chips.

Ingredients

Watermelon citronette

  • 1 cup watermelon

  • 1/4 cup lime juice

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

  • Salt to taste

Thai basil oil

  • At least 5 bunches of Thai basil, the more the better

  • Zest of limes

  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salmon tartare

  • 16 ounces salmon filets, frozen

  • 1 tsp sea salt

  • 1-2 tsp sesame oil

  • 1-2 tsp cumin

  • 1-2 tsp ginger

  • 1-2 tsp cinnamon

To garnish

  • Spring onion, diced

  • Thai basil buds

  • Thin coconut chips

Directions

Thai basil oil: 

Remove Thai basil leaves from stems, reserving smallest buds for garnish. Blend Thai basil, lime zest, and olive oil together on high speed until very smooth. Place puree in refrigerator to chill and infuse, ideally for at least one hour. Remove from refrigerator and strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve, twice if necessary.

Watermelon citronette: 

Zest and juice limes, reserving lime zest for other use. Blend watermelon, lime juice, and olive oil together on medium speed until fairly smooth but not too fine. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Season to taste.

Salmon tartare:

Freeze salmon. Remove from freezer, and chop frozen salmon into half or quarter inch sized chunks using a chef's knife or cleaver. Add remaining ingredients, as well as a tablespoon of the watermelon citronette, and mix well. Keep cool but not frozen until ready to serve, ideally no more than an hour.

To serve:

Place a ring mold on the center of the dish. Spoon enough salmon tartare to fill the ring mold. Place Thai basil buds and spring onion on top of tartare. Stick coconut chips upright in salmon tartare. Remove ring mold. Pour watermelon citronette around tartare in base of dish. Using a very small spoon or pipette, place droplets of Thai basil oil in suspension throughout the citronette.

RecipesMelanie WangrecipeComment