Tonno alla griglia al salmoriglio — pink-centred grilled tuna with courgette bulgur pilaf

Name: Tonno alla griglia al salmoriglio — pink-centred grilled tuna with courgette bulgur pilaf
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Israeli and Mediterranean
Ingredients: 360 g Fresh tuna steaks (2 cm thick) (2 steaks, 180 g each and an even 2 cm thick, bought fresh from the fishmonger on the day); 140 g Coarse bulgur wheat (70 g per person, cooked as a pilaf); 80 g Yellow onions (1 small onion, thinly sliced, for the pilaf); 300 g Courgettes (2 small, firm courgettes, cut into 1.5 cm dice); 80 g Extra virgin olive oil (8 tbsp: 15 g for the pilaf, 10 g for the courgettes, 5 g for the tuna, 50 g for the salmoriglio); 80 g Lemon (about ⅔ lemon: zest for the pilaf, juice of half the lemon (25 g) for the sauce, a wedge for the table); 10 g Garlic (2 cloves, peeled, central shoots removed and crushed in a garlic press); 2 g Dried oregano (2 tsp, preferably Sicilian or Greek); 12 g Flat-leaf parsley (a small handful, chopped: half for the sauce, half for the pilaf); 290 g Water (280 g boiling water for the pilaf, 10 g hot water for the sauce); 5.5 g Fine salt (2 g for the pilaf, 1 g for the courgettes, 1.5 g for the tuna, 1 g for the sauce); 1 g Ground black pepper (about ½ tsp: half for the sauce, half for the tuna)

pareve fish Israeli and Mediterranean · easy · 40 min, including 30 hands-on

Fresh tuna steaks seared on a griddle pan and left pink at the centre, brushed and then dressed with Messina-style salmoriglio of oil, lemon, garlic and oregano, served on a bulgur pilaf with onion, golden courgettes and lemon zest.

Ingredients for two

360 g	Fresh tuna steaks (2 cm thick) 2 steaks, 180 g each and an even 2 cm thick, bought fresh from the fishmonger on the day
140 g	Coarse bulgur wheat 70 g per person, cooked as a pilaf
80 g	Yellow onions 1 small onion, thinly sliced, for the pilaf
300 g	Courgettes 2 small, firm courgettes, cut into 1.5 cm dice
80 g	Extra virgin olive oil 8 tbsp: 15 g for the pilaf, 10 g for the courgettes, 5 g for the tuna, 50 g for the salmoriglio
80 g	Lemon about ⅔ lemon: zest for the pilaf, juice of half the lemon (25 g) for the sauce, a wedge for the table
10 g	Garlic 2 cloves, peeled, central shoots removed and crushed in a garlic press
2 g	Dried oregano 2 tsp, preferably Sicilian or Greek
12 g	Flat-leaf parsley a small handful, chopped: half for the sauce, half for the pilaf
290 g	Water 280 g boiling water for the pilaf, 10 g hot water for the sauce
5.5 g	Fine salt 2 g for the pilaf, 1 g for the courgettes, 1.5 g for the tuna, 1 g for the sauce
1 g	Ground black pepper about ½ tsp: half for the sauce, half for the tuna

Method

Bring just over 300 g water to the boil in a kettle or small saucepan: 280 g for the pilaf and 10 g for the sauce. Thinly slice the onion. In the 1.5 litre saucepan, soften the onion in 15 g oil over a medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring, until translucent but not coloured. Add the bulgur and stir for 1 minute until the grains look glossy. Add 280 g boiling water and 2 g salt, stir once, cover and cook over the lowest heat for 12 minutes without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and leave covered for 5 minutes. While it cooks, cut the courgettes into 1.5 cm dice; peel the two garlic cloves, remove their central shoots and crush in a garlic press, or with a knife blade and a pinch of salt. Chop the parsley, grate the lemon zest onto a small plate, then squeeze half the lemon to obtain 25 g juice.
Make the salmoriglio while the pilaf is still cooking: set a bowl over a small saucepan of hot water, off the heat, to make a warm bain-marie. If using water from the kettle, pour boiling water into a small saucepan to a depth of 2 cm. Whisk 50 g oil with 10 g hot water in the bowl for 1 minute, then pour in the 25 g lemon juice in a thin stream, whisking continuously. The sauce becomes pale and cloudy and emulsifies, lightly coating a spoon. Add the crushed garlic, oregano crumbled between your fingers, half the parsley, 1 g salt and half the pepper. Taste: the lemon should be pronounced but well rounded. Immediately set aside one-third in a second clean bowl for the variation, before any contact with the fish. Keep at room temperature.
As soon as the pilaf is resting, heat 10 g oil in the 26 cm frying pan over a medium-high heat. Spread the courgettes in a single layer and leave to brown for 3 minutes without stirring, then sauté for 5–6 minutes, until golden at the edges and tender but still holding their shape. Season with 1 g salt at the end. During the last 5 minutes of the courgettes' cooking time, heat the griddle pan over a high heat: a drop of water should sizzle and evaporate immediately. Take the steaks out of the fridge.
Add the courgettes to the saucepan of bulgur with the lemon zest and remaining parsley, fluff with a fork, cover and return to the smallest hob on its lowest setting, or to the still-warm hotplate: the pilaf stays warm while the tuna grills, for no more than 6 minutes.
Pat the steaks thoroughly dry with kitchen paper and coat with 5 g oil, 1.5 g salt and the remaining pepper. Place on the very hot griddle pan and leave untouched for 2 minutes: distinct brown grill marks should form and the steaks should release by themselves. Turn with a spatula and cook the other side for 1 minute 30 seconds to 2 minutes; during the last minute, brush the tops with a little salmoriglio. The tuna is ready when each side is opaque to a depth of 4–5 mm and the centre is still pink and yielding to the touch, or 48–52°C on a thermometer if available. Open a steak slightly with the tip of a knife to check: the centre should be pink, not white. For medium tuna, allow another 30 seconds per side, no more, and never above 58°C: beyond that it dries out.
Warm two plates under very hot running water for 1 minute, then dry them, or place in a 60°C oven while the tuna cooks. Put the steaks on them and rest for 2 minutes. Divide the courgette bulgur between the plates, place the steaks on top, spoon 2 tbsp salmoriglio over each, add a lemon wedge and serve the remaining sauce alongside in its bowl.

Fish-free

Fresh tuna steaks (2 cm thick) → Skinless chicken breast escalopes (150 g each) 320 g (2 whole chicken escalopes, 160 g each and 1.5 cm thick, not flattened, prepared by the kosher butcher)
add Extra virgin olive oil 5 g (½ tbsp for the chicken pan, in addition to the recipe's 80 g)

Keep the pilaf, courgettes and salmoriglio. As soon as the sauce is ready at step 2, season the chicken escalopes with their share of the salt and pepper allocated to the steaks, then turn them in half of the reserved one-third of salmoriglio, poured into a shallow dish. Leave the other half in its bowl for serving. Marinate for about 15 minutes at room temperature while the pilaf finishes cooking and you cook the courgettes.
Heat the chicken pan, 24 cm, over a medium-high heat with 5 g oil at the same time as the griddle pan, at step 3. Three hobs will then be in use: the courgette pan, followed by the saucepan on its lowest setting; the griddle pan; and the chicken pan. This is expected. Drain the escalopes and start them 6 minutes before the tuna, as soon as the pan is hot. Cook for 4–5 minutes per side, until golden with white meat at the centre and clear juices when pierced, or 74°C on a thermometer if available. Turn with tongs reserved for meat and rest for 3 minutes on a plate reserved for chicken: both proteins will be ready together.
Divide the shared accompaniment between the plates, then add the appropriate protein to each. Spoon over the chicken the half of the salmoriglio kept in the variation's bowl, never the marinade that touched the raw chicken; do not put the fish spoon back into the sauce intended for the chicken.

Pollo al salmoriglio is also a Sicilian classic: the sauce doubles as the marinade. Replacement quantities serve two; for one fish plate and one fish-free plate, keep the accompaniment for two, use one tuna steak and one chicken escalope, and divide the sauce before it touches either raw protein. Use separate dishes and utensils for fish and meat.

Lighter version

Coarse bulgur wheat : 100 g
Courgettes : 400 g
Extra virgin olive oil : 50 g
Water : 210 g

Make the pilaf with 10 g oil and 200 g water for 100 g bulgur; use 10 g oil for the courgettes and 5 g for the tuna. Make the salmoriglio with 25 g oil and 15 g lemon juice: the sauce stays rounded, with just a little extra sharpness. Keep the same cooking method.

Less bulgur, more courgettes and less uncooked oil at the table: the same tuna and the same sauce.

On your plate

Recipe

928 kcal · protein 55 g · carbs 54 g · fat 52 g

Quantities per person

180 g Fresh tuna steaks (2 cm thick)
70 g Coarse bulgur wheat
40 g Yellow onions
150 g Courgettes
40 g Extra virgin olive oil
40 g Lemon
5 g Garlic
1 g Dried oregano
6 g Flat-leaf parsley
145 g Water
2.75 g Fine salt
0.5 g Ground black pepper

Fish-free version

868 kcal · protein 49 g · carbs 54 g · fat 47 g

Quantities per person

70 g Coarse bulgur wheat
40 g Yellow onions
150 g Courgettes
42.5 g Extra virgin olive oil
40 g Lemon
5 g Garlic
1 g Dried oregano
6 g Flat-leaf parsley
145 g Water
2.75 g Fine salt
0.5 g Ground black pepper
160 g Skinless chicken breast escalopes (150 g each)

Cooking tips

Tuna is served pink; further cooking dries it out. The secret is perfectly dry steaks, a very hot griddle pan and leaving them alone until they release. Buy two steaks of the same thickness, 2 cm, fresh on the day, never frozen; a 1.5 cm steak takes 1 minute 30 seconds per side. Do not marinate the tuna in lemon: the sauce is added in the last minute of cooking and on the plate. Salmoriglio can also be made the day before and served over anything from the grill: vegetables, chicken or bread. The pilaf can be made ahead and reheated covered with a spoonful of water; courgettes that are still slightly firm reheat better. The 40-minute timing works if you follow the order of the steps: make the sauce and do the chopping while the pilaf cooks.

Equipment : 26 cm griddle pan, 26 cm frying pan, 1.5 litre saucepan with a lid, garlic press, small whisk, pastry brush, cooking thermometer (optional), second 24 cm frying pan, tongs, shallow dish and plate reserved for the chicken (variation)

Messina-style grilling with salmoriglio (salmurigghiu, two parts oil to one part lemon juice). Sicilian pesce spada alla griglia uses swordfish, which is not recognised as kosher by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel or the OU; here it is made with fresh tuna, whose dense flesh suits the same grilling method and sauce. Served with Israeli-style bulgur pilaf.