RECIPE: Vegetable Tartare

I was utterly blown away by the tuna tartare served at Hiroshi that I had last week, and it inspired me to create a vegetable side dish to serve alongside an asparagus/leek risotto and filet mignon with smoked pork belly. What I wanted was the flavor of a "traditional" tartare, with a bit of an Asian twist, combined with the multiple textures of the vegetables. The tartare turned out rather well, so I decided it would be the first recipe I share here.

Vegetable Tartare
Serves 2

Ingredients

5 artichoke bottoms (canned)
2 "sticks" heart of palm (canned), sliced into 3/8" slices
1/2 medium yellow tomato, seeded and sliced into 1/4" dice
1/2 medium orange tomato, seeded and sliced into 1/4" dice
1/4 avocado, chopped into 1/4" dice
Watercress leaves
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbs capers (in brine, not salted)
1/2 tsp caper brine
Pink or black salt (preferably a rough flake)

Directions

Reserve two of the artichoke bottoms. Chop the remaining three into roughly 1/4" dice. Combine chopped artichoke bottoms, hearts of palm, tomatoes, avocado, and capers in a small bowl. Drizzle the sesame oil and brine and toss to coat.

Slice off the bottom of the two reserved artichoke bottoms to make a stable base. Put a few watercress leaves on the plate and set one artichoke bottom in each "nest" of watercress. Mound the tartare onto the artichoke bottoms and top with a small pinch of volcanic salt.