Grilled Ahi Tuna with sauteed tomatoes, capers, and olives

Grilled Ahi Tuna with sautéed tomatoes, capers, and olives. This dish says Spring with its lovely colors, lightness, and bright punchy flavors! The Ahi Tuna is so tender, like butter to your tongue, and paired with the lemon and pan sauté it is a total tastebud teaser, one that will have you diving into this again and again!

Song of the day: "It's a Beautiful Day" by Queen.

Easter is upon us!

It's Good Friday here, and for as long as I can remember, it is a day of no meat and plenty of fish. There would be things like stewed cod, my dad's amazing shrimp fetuccine in cream sauce, or spaghetti with squid in tomato sauce, and plenty of other things alongside beautiful memories which will grace today's dish Grilled Ahi Tuna with sauteed tomatoes, capers, and olives.

I am so excited to get started, let's get our ingredients together, this is what you will need:

• fresh Ahi Tuna
• evo oil
• salt and pepper
• onion and garlic powder
• fresh garlic
• onions
• grape tomatoes
• green olives
• capers
• lemon
• fresh parsley, and basil

For equipment here is what we need to make this Grilled Ahi Tuna with tomatoes, capers, and olives:

• barbecue
• medium sauté pan
• nice sharp knife
• cutting board
• spoon
• tongs
• oval platter, or serving dish of your choosing

Mixing the seasoning for this Grilled Ahi Tuna with tomatoes, capers and olives

As of late, I like to mix up my seasoning so it's a one time shop on whatever I am cooking. I take the salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder, put it in a ramekin and give it a good stir. Once that is done, we need to do some seasoning, chopping, and cutting. This is what we do:

• Firstly, season the Ahi Tuna on both sides, then drizzle some olive oil on top. Set aside.
• Secondly, crush and mince up the garlic, dice the tomatoes, finely chop the onion. Throw that all into a medium bowl.
• Pit the olives and cut in half and place in bowl with tomatoes.
• Lastly, toss in the capers, and give that mixture a really good toss.

A little bit about capers

Like I told you before capers come from a bush and are classified a berry. They are usually sold in water, or packed in salt. Today I am using the ones packed in a brine water. I love capers, they add this profound umami flavor to a dish, and today's Ahi Tuna is going to be blessed for sure! TIP: If you're using the ones in brine water, drain before using. If using the ones packed in salt, wash them under cold running water.

Time to saute those tomatoes, capers, and olives

Because Ahi Tuna when it is cooked has a very neutral color, I decided to make this mix of veggies to really bring some color in. Sautéing it will help those flavors of the olives, tomatoes, and capers balance and also deepen a bit in flavor. With that being said, let's get going:

• Get a medium size sauté pan, drizzle in some olive oil.
• Toss in your tomato/olive/caper mixture, turn heat to a medium.
• With a spoon, stir up the veggies, and then season with black pepper and little salt, because, the capers and olives arealready salty. Give it a taste, and season accordingly.

Note: It is always good to under season then give it a final taste and adjust accordingly. It is easier to rectify under seasoning, however, over saltiness is pretty hard to correct!

Grilling time!

I love grilling tuna. It does not take long, plus, cooking in the outdoors just feels good, doesn't it? Important to get that grill nice and hot. Mine is about 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you get the grill to that temp, this is what we do:

• Oil the grill. I pour olive oil on to some paper towel and rub it all into the grates. I let that heat up, then place the tuna on. That will cook for about 1 minute then I turn it 180 degrees to get those beautiful grill marks.
• Time to flip it over, however, choose another part of the grill that is nice and hot. Do the same 11 minute, then turn 180 degrees and another minute and this tuna is done. Let rest for a couple of minutes.

Time to serve this Grilled Ahi Tuna with tomatoes, capers, and olives!

This is the part that I love. To me it is important that your food looks beautiful, because it is the first thing your guest, partner, or family will experience. I chose a beautiful oval dish Nicoletta and I found at this very wonderful Japanese store.

Here's how I finished this Grilled Ahi Tuna with tomatoes, capers, and olives:

• slice up the tuna perpendicular to the grain and place in the center of your serving dish.
• Spoon the tomato, caper, olive mixture on one side. Then, slice up some lemon and place it on the other side of the tuna.
• Finish with some fresh basil, chopped fresh parsley. For added Italian touches, a drizzle of olive oil, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. It is done!

It's beautiful, it's healthy, and now time to taste

I am seriously drooling. It smells wonderful, looks amazing, and I just want to dive in. I grab some tuna, place the tomato mixture on top, a little squeeze of lemon, and it is time for fork to mouth.

Wow, that tuna is so good, subtle yet not lost, and is it ever tender, so much like butter. I love that the middle is raw. It gives such a beautiful experience of texture, while the surface has a bit of crispness and some lovely smoky flavor. I have to say, the sauté just brightens everything. The tomatoes rich, robust, alongside the acidity of the capers and the umami of the olives. Nice backdrops of garlic and the onions just keep all of that brightness in check. I am blown away, and an added bonus, so light and healthy, you can't go wrong with this one!

Happy Easter everyone!

I can't believe it is Easter already, time has just flown by. Best thing is, Nicoletta is just a week away from coming home to me and that is the best gift of all. If today is a meatless day and is Fish Friday for you, then this Grilled Ahi Tuna with tomatoes, capers, and olives is a perfect dish to bless the day! Wishing everyone a beautiful long weekend, enjoy life, your friends, family. More so, enjoy the food you so brilliantly prepared with so much love that all you are going to see is those looks of gratitude, love and kindness!

Cheers and Buon Appetito!

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