I first fell in love with the taste of Tuna, as a young boy, on the pristine shores of Deep Fork River in Oklahoma. OK, I have now entered the BS Zone. I really do love Grilled Tuna. If it were a piece of beef I would say slap it on the ass and run it thru the grill and that’s good for me. In other words, don’t ever over cook tuna.

Ingredients:
Vinaigrette:
1 tablespoon minced red onion
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 ounce golden raisins
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup California black olives, drained
1/4 cup Nicoise olives
1 ounce roasted garlic
Fresh ground black pepper
1 tablespoon whole butter
4 large red bliss or assorted waxy potatoes, skin-on, washed
8 ounces assorted summer beans, snipped
7 ounces sushi grade tuna
8 red cherry tomatoes
8 yellow cherry tomatoes
4 teaspoons pitted Nicoise olives
4 teaspoons pitted Manzanilla olives
1/4 cup torn basil leaves
1/4 cup baby arugula, rinsed & dried
8 marinated white anchovies
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Directions:
Begin by preparing the vinaigrette.

Sweat the red onions in 1 teaspoon olive oil until tender

Add golden raisins and the sherry vinegar

Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and let cool

To the blender add the mustard, olives, garlic, anchovies, and half the sherry liquid
Pulse to begin, and add the remaining sherry liquid slowly

Once all ingredients are homogenous add the olive oil in a slow steady stream

Vinaigrette should be emulsified and able to coat the vegetables.

Add fresh ground black pepper to taste, the olives will provide sufficient salt flavor

Preheat grill or grill pan

In a 2 quart pot of cold water, add the whole butter, a pinch of salt and the potatoes

Bring to a simmer

Cook until fork tender, drain

While still warm slice each potato into 3 equal parts and toss the vinaigrette

In a pot of salted and boiling water blanch and shock the summer beans

Drain and slice down the center to expose the beans inside the pot

Slice tomatoes lengthwise and hold

Grilled Blue Fin Tuna continued…

Ten minutes before plating, lightly coat the tuna in vinaigrette, before grilling

Cook the tuna to a recommended medium rare/li>

While the tuna is cooking, toss the beans, tomatoes, olives and potatoes in the vinaigrette

Add the greens just before plating

Check the seasoning and adjust

In a large bowl arrange a bed of vegetables

Slice the tuna horizontally, exposing the center

Place in the center along with the white anchovies

Sprinkle with sea salt, drizzle with olive oil and enjoy

Yields: 4 servings