Grilled Tuna with Watercress-Parsley Salad and Charmoula Vinaigrette
By America's Test KitchenPublished on August 22, 2007
Time
55 minutes, plus 1 hour marinating
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Grilled Tuna
4 tuna steaks (about ¾-inch thick and 8 ounces each)3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oilFor Vinaigrette
2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice from 1 lemon2 small cloves garlic, minced½ teaspoon table salt ½ teaspoon ground cumin ¼ teaspoon paprika ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil ground black pepper 1 bunch watercress, washed, dried well, and trimmed1 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed and dried wellBefore You Begin
Wendy Brucker of Rivoli Resturant in Berkeley inspired this recipe.
Instructions
- Place tuna and oil in gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag; seal bag and refrigerate until fish has marinated fully, at least 1 and up to 24 hours.
- Meanwhile, spread one large chimney’s worth, about 5 quarts, hardwood charcoal or charcoal briquettes over 2/3 of grill bottom. Refill chimney with charcoal, position on charcoal layer in grill, and ignite. Burn until charcoal in chimney is blazing, 5 to 8 minutes. Dump burning coals onto unlit charcoal, position grill rack over fire, and burn until all charcoal is completely covered with thin coating of light gray ash and fire is very hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill surface for 1 to 2 seconds), 20 to 30 minutes more.
- Remove tuna from bag; season both sides of each steak with salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat until well seared and grill marks appear, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip steaks over and grill on second side until fish is cooked to medium (opaque throughout, yet translucent at very center when checked with point of paring knife), 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer.
- Whisk lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and cilantro in small bowl. Add oil in slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until smooth; season with pepper to taste.
- Place watercress and parsley in medium bowl; drizzle with half the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Divide dressed greens among four serving plates; place a grilled tuna steak next to or on each bed of greens, drizzle with a portion of remaining vinaigrette, and serve immediately.
for tuna
for vinaigrette
Time
55 minutes, plus 1 hour marinatingYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Grilled Tuna
4 tuna steaks (about ¾-inch thick and 8 ounces each)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For Vinaigrette
2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 small cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
ground black pepper
1 bunch watercress, washed, dried well, and trimmed
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed and dried well
Ingredients
Grilled Tuna
4 tuna steaks (about ¾-inch thick and 8 ounces each)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For Vinaigrette
2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 small cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
ground black pepper
1 bunch watercress, washed, dried well, and trimmed
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed and dried well
Ingredients
Grilled Tuna
4 tuna steaks (about ¾-inch thick and 8 ounces each)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For Vinaigrette
2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 small cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon paprika
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
ground black pepper
1 bunch watercress, washed, dried well, and trimmed
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed and dried well
Why This Recipe Works
For the best grilled tuna recipe, one that produced tuna steaks beautifully seared on the outside and moist and tender on the inside, we turned to olive oil. We discovered that marinating the fish in extra-virgin olive for at least an hour produced remarkably moist grilled fish.
Before You Begin
Wendy Brucker of Rivoli Resturant in Berkeley inspired this recipe.
Instructions
- Place tuna and oil in gallon-sized zipper-lock plastic bag; seal bag and refrigerate until fish has marinated fully, at least 1 and up to 24 hours.
- Meanwhile, spread one large chimney’s worth, about 5 quarts, hardwood charcoal or charcoal briquettes over 2/3 of grill bottom. Refill chimney with charcoal, position on charcoal layer in grill, and ignite. Burn until charcoal in chimney is blazing, 5 to 8 minutes. Dump burning coals onto unlit charcoal, position grill rack over fire, and burn until all charcoal is completely covered with thin coating of light gray ash and fire is very hot (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill surface for 1 to 2 seconds), 20 to 30 minutes more.
- Remove tuna from bag; season both sides of each steak with salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat until well seared and grill marks appear, about 1 1/2 minutes. Flip steaks over and grill on second side until fish is cooked to medium (opaque throughout, yet translucent at very center when checked with point of paring knife), 1 to 1 1/2 minutes longer.
- Whisk lemon juice, garlic, salt, cumin, paprika, cayenne, and cilantro in small bowl. Add oil in slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until smooth; season with pepper to taste.
- Place watercress and parsley in medium bowl; drizzle with half the vinaigrette and toss to coat. Divide dressed greens among four serving plates; place a grilled tuna steak next to or on each bed of greens, drizzle with a portion of remaining vinaigrette, and serve immediately.
for tuna
for vinaigrette
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