Grilled tuna with sun dried tomatoes and olives

Tuesday July 6, 2010

Tuesdays are hard for me for cooking because I start the day late, have a late lunch and am not hungry until later in the evening. So, I have two options: cook early-before work, or cook late when I'm hungry. Or, I suppose, I could put on something slow cooking in the morning so by the time I’m hungry, it’s ready. Hmm.

The tuna can be cooked on the grill, under the broiler or on a grill pan.
The sauce would make a great marinade!

Grilled tuna with sun-dried tomatoes and olives
Williams Sonoma Food and Wine Pairing, pg 78

¼ cup finely chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
¼ cup chopped pitted Niçoise olives
¼ cup chopped fresh mint or thyme
2 tsp minced garlic
4 T extra virgin olive oil
3 T fresh lemon juice
2 T oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
½ tsp freshly ground pepper
salt to taste
4 tuna fillets


Start the briquettes or heat the grill or broiler. Use 1 T of the oil to coat the tuna, season with salt and pepper.

Combine the tomatoes, olives mint or thyme, garlic, 3 T olive oil, lemon juice, 2 T oil from the tomatoes in a bowl to make the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Cook the tuna about three or four minutes on each side. Do not overcook.

How I did it: I broiled the tuna but I think it would be better on the grill pan. It was well done and I’d prefer it less done than that. It was very fast and very tasty.
Just before I began the recipe, I started the greens. Dice ½ small onion, mince 2 garlic cloves, sauté in a bit of olive oil. Wash the greens (chard, turnip greens, mustard greens, not kale) and slice into 1” pieces. Add the damp greens to the pan with the onions and garlic. Cover and cook for one minute, then turn off the heat and let steam. Start the tuna. While it cooks, make the sauce.

Serve: place a heap of greens on a plate, top with the tuna and sauce.

Yum.