Grilled Tuna With Herbs and Olives
Updated June 6, 2017
Evan Sung for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
1 ½ to 2 pounds tuna, about 1 inch thick, 2 or 4 steaks
Extra-virgin olive oil as needed
Salt and pepper
¼ cup pitted oil-cured olives, finely chopped
About 1 cup mixed tender fresh herbs
1 teaspoon minced garlic, optional
Lemon wedges
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
2 grams carbs; 123 milligrams cholesterol; 498 calories; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 35 grams fat; 2 grams trans fat; 1 gram fiber; 530 milligrams sodium; 40 grams protein
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Start a charcoal or gas grill; fire should be medium-high and rack about 4 inches from heat source.
- Step 2
When fire is ready, rub tuna lightly with olive oil, then sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Put it on grill and grill about 3 to 4 minutes a side for medium-rare, more or less according to your desired degree of doneness.
- Step 3
Meanwhile, combine olives, herbs, garlic if you are using it and just enough oil to moisten and bind the mixture, no more than a tablespoon.
- Step 4
When tuna is done, spread a portion of herb mixture on 1 side of each steak and serve with lemon wedges.
Private Notes
Comments
Cooked tuna in very hot cast iron skillet 2 min on first side and 1 min on other. Perfect and glad didn't cook longer. Dry brined tuna w/ coarse salt and pepper 20 minutes before cooking. Wiped fish off, then coated with olive oil and coarse black pepper. Made olive mixture in heavy mortar and pestle; used mint, basil, parsley (garlic essential) - added 1 Tbsp lemon juice to balance flavor. Served with couscous and mixed extra olive mixture into couscous. Absolutely delicious and very easy.
When not grilling, I prefer a sauté pan over the oven. I make sure the oiled pan is hot, a minute to a minute and a half on each side, then remove from heat to cook through. That keeps it tender and moist, 'cause it's a crime to overcook fresh fish.
4 minutes on each side ended up being cooked just a bit too much for us - next time I'll do 2.5-3 to keep some pink on the inside! For the sauce I used moroccan black olives, garlic, and mint, because that's what I had, and included another side of some fresh chimichurri sauce we had in the fridge, which added a definite kick! This was delicious. Served with a spinach salad with olive oil/lemon dressing. Perfect, easy summer dinner.
First time making this. We got tuna precut into kabob pieces and I had no idea what to do with it. My husband is not a fancy eater but he will humor me when I want to try something new. So we made this today. Marinated the tuna kabob pieces. Mixed 2 cups basil, 3 tablespoons dried chives( stop and shop didn’t have fresh) and 2 cups parsley in the food processor. Put 1 lb of hthe tuna in my large cast iron on med high heat and let it rip. It was good!
I live in Denmark and Tuna can be very expensive. I bought salmon steaks from the fish market to substitute and cooked them on the grill. Served it all with a Greek salad and the dish was incredible.
You can also do this without olives. I did it with a mix of spearmint, basil, cilantro, olive oil and lemon and it came out fantastic. Served with some roasted potatoes and an arugula salad. Just top notch lucnh.