Friday Finds: Citrus Pesto Tuna



let it marinate.

Happy Friday!
Are you looking forward to the weekend? We're going to be celebrating Alex's upcoming birthday (the big 3-0) on Saturday with friends so we are both very excited!

Spring has sprung but it is still colllld here in Chicago. I have been itching for some summery food though, so my husband was a trooper and decided to put on a coat and man the grill this week. Actually, it was his idea to pick up some fresh fish to grill recently so I went back to the bookshelf and found the perfect new recipe to try. This week we tried a recipe from Weber's Real Grilling cookbook by Jamie Purviance. It's Weber's Bible for grilling and includes over 200 recipes for a variety of grilled dishes. Can't wait to try a few more this summer!

This Citrus Pesto Tuna is a light and fruity meal that made me long for summertime. I made a few swaps with this recipe that I should tell you about too-- first, my grocery store didn't have tangerines, so I subbed in blood oranges instead and it was really sweet and delicious. Second, the cookbook suggested a side of citrus-fennel salad. I really don't care for fennel, so I served the tuna with a salad of romaine, blood orange segments, and chopped scallions in a homemade citrus vinaigrette.
 

Ingredients:

• 2 medium heads garlic
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh basil
• 1 Tbs. finely chopped oregano leaves
• Zest and juice of 1 tangerine *I couldn't find tangerines, so I used a blood orange instead 
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 4 sushi-grade (ahi) tuna steaks, about 10 oz. each and 1 1/2 inches thick

Roasting the garlic: Remove the loose, papery outer skin from the heads of garlic. Using a sharp knife, cut about 1/2-inch off the top to expose the cloves. Place each garlic head on a large square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil over the top of the cloves. Fold up the foil sides and seal to make a packet, leaving a little room for the expansion of steam. Grill over Indirect Medium heat until the cloves are soft and golden brown, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the garlic cloves into a medium bowl. Add the remaining marinade ingredients, including the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, and mash the ingredients with the back of a fork. Coat the tuna steaks with the marinade and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes before grilling. 

Grill the tuna steaks over Direct High heat just until the surface is well marked and the center is still red, 3 to 4 minutes, turning once. Serve warm.