Grilled Tuna Steaks with Grilled Asparagus and a Garlic-Dill Aioli

Summer, in my mind, is one of the best times of the year to cook! Herbs are growing fresh, al fresco dining is enjoyable, and grilling outside is not only a possibly, but practically a requirement! Some of my favorite meals are grillable, like the one I made tonight for my roommate and I. We had a "guys-night-in" and celebrated in the least masculine way I can think of - we ate fish and watched Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Still... I had fun anyway, and my roommate really seemed to enjoy his tuna steak!

Eating fish is just fantastic, particularly a hearty piece of fish like a tuna steak. It's not as fatty as beef and it contains a lot of Omega-3s. I'm not sure what those are, exactly, but I hear them mentioned by a lot of health nuts, so I assume they're good for you... At any rate, I thought this meal was a leaner alternative to a huge hunk of beef (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Grilled Asparagus and a Garlic-Dill Aioli

Tuna Steaks
Ingredients:

• 2 tuna steaks (mine were pretty thick - probably at least half a pound each pre-cooking)
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil
  

Directions:

1. Heat your grill to medium-low heat.
   
2. Season both sides of your tuna steak with salt and pepper. Also drizzle both sides with olive oil.
3. Cook on the grill until your tuna has a nice, firm outer texture. (Turn only once, if possible.) If it's good quality tuna (sushi-grade), you'll want it no doner than medium. For lesser quality, medium-well to well is probably okay.

After the first flip - doesn't that look scrumptious?!

Grilled Asparagus
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of asparagus stalks (green or white, it doesn't matter)
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Directions:

1. Wash your asparagus and remove the ends of the stalks, leaving the more tender top (spear) portions.
2. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.
3. Put out on the grill about the same time as your tuna steaks. If you have an upper section of your grill, go ahead and set the stalks up there. If not, find a non-hot spot on your grill. If all goes well, your asparagus and tuna should finish up right around the same time.

This has easily become my favorite way to prepare asparagus! It turns out so fantastic and has such a rustic look, flavor, and texture! YUM!

Garlic-Dill Aioli
Use this sauce as a substitute for traditional tartar sauce. It gives a very nice fresh flavor that I found preferable to tartar sauce, plus it also makes a really nice dressing for the asparagus!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup good mayonnaise (I like to make my own!)
• two cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
  
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Add the minced garlic, chopped dill, and lemon juice to the mayonnaise and stir until well combined. Make sure you taste-test it and add salt and pepper if you think you need them. You may also want to add more dill. (If you think you might want to add less dill, put in a smaller amount and test it. Cooking is ALL ABOUT the trial and error!)

VARIATION! If you really like a super-lemony flavor, add some fresh lemon zest to your aioli. Also, if you're not too keen on dill, this recipe would also work with finely chopped basil or tarragon.

I decided to get a little creative with plating (something I've never really tried before). This is how the final product turned out:

Note that I put a sprig of fresh parsley on top of the tuna as a garnish! Both that and the dill for the aioli came from my summer garden! I think the only thing this plate is missing is some more diverse color - something warm, like a red or a yellow. Perhaps some sauteed bell peppers? Something to consider...

Serves: 2 (for four, add two more tuna steaks and, perhaps, another pound of asparagus)
Serving Suggestions: I've pretty much prepared your whole meal for you this time. If you don't like asparagus, it might be nice to substitute a light salad made of colorful summer foods, like summer squash, zucchini, onions, and bell peppers, grilled, seasoned with salt and pepper, and drizzled with good extra virgin olive oil. You can, of course, substitute the aioli for regular tartar sauce (but where's the fun in that?!). Also, if you go in for that kind of thing, this dish would pair nicely with a robust red wine like a Pinot Noir or a dry white wine like a Chardonnay. But again, that's only if you go in for that kind of thing.
________

Watching Vicky Cristina Barcelona got me thinking about how much the summer weather makes me want to prepare something like a paella or some tapas and a pitcher of sangria. It makes me think about having some friends over this summer and just hang out, eat some good Spanish food and leisurely enjoy the pleasure of one another's company. No pressure to do anything but sit around and be incredibly chill. *Sigh* That would be awesome!

Any takers...? ;)