Ahi Tuna Poke

This is my second month participating in the Secret Recipe Club.  What is the Secret Recipe Club you ask?  The concept is simple.  A group of food bloggers each get assigned another persons blog...and the assignments are....you guessed it, a secret.  You browse the blog you have been assigned that month and then choose a recipe to make and blog about.  Everyone reveals their posts on the same day.  What I love about the Secret Recipe Club is it is a great way to get know new blogs.  I'm always super excited the day the blog assignments are handed out.  I can't wait to check out my assigned blog and see what it's all about and what tasty dish I might make.

This month I was assigned Mary Anne and Mariel's blog, Feast on the Cheap.  These two very talented ladies are a mother daughter team.  Mary Anne is a professional caterer and Mariel is a writer who contributes regularly to publications like Martha Stewart Living, Self and Redbook and describes herself as a "fledgling foodie".  Feast on the Cheap is all about delicious, affordable homemade food.  Mary Anne and Mariel provide a cost per serving for every recipe and have a wide array of dishes that elevate food to a gourmet status.  I spent quite a bit of time drooling over all the wonderful recipes on their site. It was difficult to choose just one.  Initially I had my eye on New England Clam Chowder, Cheesecake Brownies with Glazed Mixed Berries and Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Mint Glaze.  I have bookmarked all three for future indulgences.  But at the end of day I selected the Ahi Tuna Poke for two reasons.  I knew Hubby would love it and it didn't require me turning on the oven or serving a hot soup on a hot summer day. 

Ahi Poke is a light, delicious and simple appetizer that can be whipped together in no time.  You can serve it with crispy fried wontons, tortilla chips or crisp pita wedges.  I stayed pretty true to the original recipe in terms of the ingredients only making one small change to add in sliced green onions.  I halved the recipe and Hubby and I had it for a light Sunday dinner (recovering from a somewhat heavy lunch).  I used half the ingredients to make a layered mold so I could take a photo.  To make the mold I used a short wide mouthed drinking glass and lined it with plastic wrap.  I took a little liberty with how I layered it in the event that Hubs wasn't a huge fan of the heat from the siracha chile sauce.  I took a small portion of each of the ingredients (ahi, cucumber, tomato, avocado and green onion) and mixed it with the sauce (chile sauce, soy sauce, mirin, sesame oil and dijon mustard--I omitted the mustard).  That's how the Feast of the Cheap ladies served the entire dish.  But Hubs is not a huge fan of spicy stuff so I only used the spicy mixture in the middle layer.  The rest of the layers were sauce-less.  And I had some extra sauce on the side for those of who like a little more heat (i.e., me).  Turns out Hubby liked the spice!  Now I have a huge bottle of siracha chile sauce to use up.  ;)  This recipe is a keeper!

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the blog see what the other Secret Recipe Club bloggers made this month.


Ahi Tuna Poke
from Feast on the Cheap

Serves 20 appetizer portions

Ahi Mixture:
1 1/2 pounds of sushi grade ahi tuna, chopped
1 cucumber peeled, seeded and chopped
3 avocados pitted, peeled and chopped
2 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
Optional: 2 green onions thinly sliced (this was my addition)

Sauce:
2 tablespoons chili sauce (siracha)
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or Tamari sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons mirin wine
1 teaspoon dijon mustard (optional) - I omitted

Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl combine the ahi tuna, cucumber, avocados, tomatoes and green onions (if using).  Pour sauce over the ahi and vegetables and gently stir to evenly coat all the ingredients with the sauce.  Serve with crispy fried wontons, tortilla chips or crisp pita wedges.