GRILLED TUNA WITH HERBS AND OLIVES

Grilled Tuna With Herbs and Olives image

Here, grilled tuna is smothered with a mixture of flavorful herbs, made more potent by the addition of chopped olives and a little raw garlic. A mix of parsley, basil, chives, chervil and marjoram, for example, would be splendid, as would one of cilantro, mint and basil. (I would rule out only thyme, tarragon and rosemary, unless you use them in minuscule quantities.) If you don't have a grill, many readers have baked it at 425 and been happy with the results.

Provided by Mark Bittman

Time 20m

Yield 4 servings

Number Of Ingredients 7

Ingredients

1 1/2 to 2 pounds tuna, about 1 inch thick, 2 or 4 steaks
Extra-virgin olive oil as needed
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup pitted oil-cured olives, finely chopped
About 1 cup mixed tender fresh herbs
1 teaspoon minced garlic, optional
Lemon wedges

Steps:

Start a charcoal or gas grill; fire should be medium-high and rack about 4 inches from heat source.
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.
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.
When tuna is done, spread a portion of herb mixture on 1 side of each steak and serve with lemon wedges.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 495, UnsaturatedFat 19 grams, Carbohydrate 2 grams, Fat 35 grams, Fiber 1 gram, Protein 40 grams, SaturatedFat 14 grams, Sodium 526 milligrams, Sugar 0 grams, TransFat 2 grams