Home >Recipes >Grilled Tuna Tonnato

Serves: 4

For the Sauce:
1 can (200-gram) imported oil-packed tuna, drained
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
5 caper berries, stemmed, or 2 heaping tsp capers
1 tbsp caper juice
1-1/2 tsp minced Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 tsp lemon juice, or more to taste
sea salt, preferably gray salt

For the Tuna:
1 tsp whole coriander seeds
4 six-oz. tuna steaks, about 3/4-inch thick
freshly ground black pepper extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, preferably gray salt

For the Salad:
2 medium tomatoes, in 1-inch dice
1/2 medium red onion, sliced “onion-soup style”
16 caper berries, stemmed and sliced, or 2 tbsp chopped capers
5-inch piece of English cucumber, peeled, halved
lengthwise, seeded and sliced on the diagonal 1/8-inch thick
2/3 cup whole Italian (flat-leaf) parsley leaves
3 to 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon
sea salt, preferably gray salt
freshly ground black pepper

Put the tuna, olive oil, caper berries, caper juice, parsley, pepper and 1-1/2 tsp lemon juice in a blender with 1/4-cup water. Blend until smooth. Add a little more water if needed to make a puree. Transfer to a bowl. Season to taste with salt and add a little more lemon juice if needed.
Prepare a hot charcoal fire or heat a griddle until very hot.
In a small skillet, toast the coriander seeds over moderate heat until fragrant. Cool, then pound to a powder in a mortar. Brush the tuna with olive oil, then season with salt, pepper and ground coriander.
In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, caper berries, cucumber and parsley leaves. Set aside while you grill the tuna. Grill the tuna to desired doneness; for this dish, I like the tuna rare, which takes about 1-1/2 minutes per side over a hot charcoal fire.
Put about 1/4-cup sauce on each of four dinner plates. Top with a tuna steak.
To finish the salad, add the olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss, taste and adjust the seasoning. Mound the salad on top of the tuna, dividing it evenly, and leaving any juice behind in the bowl. Serve immediately.