Paleo anyone? Forget the fried rice noodles that add an unneeded crunch to a delectable Tuna Tartare appetizer. My foodie friend rightly insists on a photo op to capture the pretty plating. Once the brief photo op ends, we bypass the noodles and eagerly plunge our chopsticks into the fresh, briny goodness of raw tuna, salmon roe and raw quail egg yolk.
Each bite transports me to a Paleolithic fantasy land where humans enjoyed wholesome and clean foods straight from the oceans and forests. In this fantasy land, women forage for quail eggs, daikon sprouts and shiso leaves while men hunt and fish for tuna and salmon roe. Nature's abundance keeps Paleolithic humans lean, fit, healthy and happy without the need for modern food processing, preservation and storage technology that makes this dish possible.
Each bite transports me to a Paleolithic fantasy land where humans enjoyed wholesome and clean foods straight from the oceans and forests. In this fantasy land, women forage for quail eggs, daikon sprouts and shiso leaves while men hunt and fish for tuna and salmon roe. Nature's abundance keeps Paleolithic humans lean, fit, healthy and happy without the need for modern food processing, preservation and storage technology that makes this dish possible.
Tuna Tartare with salmon roe and quail egg. Photo by Nina Dew.
Even sans the fried-rice noodles, this dish is probably not Paleo anyway.
I savor the way the roe pops in my mouth and imagine the first time a human tasted roe. That first taste must have been a bonanza to the famished Paleolithic human who likely gutted it on the spot in a frenzy of hunger. I doubt Paleolithic humans had much opportunity to enjoy anything resembling this Tuna Tartare appetizer, much less any food at all. Modern humans can thank those lean times for our natural preference for high-calorie, sugary, and fatty foods. These foods ensured our survival in the Paleolithic era.
Besides, the raw ingredients are the only thing that makes this dish Paleo. The finely diced tuna probably contains a bit of soy sauce for flavoring, and soy sauce contains processed soy and gluten, definite no-nos in Paleo diet world. And a hint of dairy may lurk in the tartare mix to add flavor and heighten the creamy richness for more deliciousness.
Every bite in this dish makes me truly grateful for the luxuries of modernity. Food preservation technologies such as flash-freezing and refrigeration make eating raw fish and roe possible in the Midwest, thousands of miles away from the nearest ocean. And let us not forget the various and wonderful food preparation and cooking techniques that humans developed in the hundreds of thousands of years since humans first appeared on the Paleolithic scene.
That human creativity brings together different ingredients like tuna, salmon roe and quail eggs for a distinctively modern epicurean experience that our Paleolithic ancestors could only dream about.
Besides, the raw ingredients are the only thing that makes this dish Paleo. The finely diced tuna probably contains a bit of soy sauce for flavoring, and soy sauce contains processed soy and gluten, definite no-nos in Paleo diet world. And a hint of dairy may lurk in the tartare mix to add flavor and heighten the creamy richness for more deliciousness.
Every bite in this dish makes me truly grateful for the luxuries of modernity. Food preservation technologies such as flash-freezing and refrigeration make eating raw fish and roe possible in the Midwest, thousands of miles away from the nearest ocean. And let us not forget the various and wonderful food preparation and cooking techniques that humans developed in the hundreds of thousands of years since humans first appeared on the Paleolithic scene.
That human creativity brings together different ingredients like tuna, salmon roe and quail eggs for a distinctively modern epicurean experience that our Paleolithic ancestors could only dream about.
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