July 26, 2023

Summertime and the cooking is easy, for the obvious reason of wanting to generate less heat. This tasty recipe features local corn and the meatiness of grilled tuna. Grilling the tuna is quick and easy. Creamy corn with capers, white wine and shallot takes only a few stovetop minutes. If you want a side of asparagus as shown here, the microwave will help.

Simple is best with summertime outdoor entertaining. Start with a chilled make- ahead appetizer and summer beverage. Make the sauce first, with a brief warm up before serving. Side vegetables can be seasonal like thickly sliced heirloom tomato with flaky sea salt. Pretty green asparagus is fine to serve at room temperature. My new favorite technique for crisp-tender asparagus is a towel wrapped trip in the microwave.

The sauce is creamy and chunky with fresh corn and capers (and a little cream). Serve it under the grilled ahi tuna steak to preserve the crusty fish exterior.

It must be remembered that this is a simple dish, although it looks complex and fancy.

Two words to live by : simple, and summer.

Tuna with Corn and Capers

recipe by Michele Humlan, The Good Eats Company

makes four servings

ingredients

4 ahi tuna steaks, about 6 ounces each, 1.5 inches thick
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
kosher salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup minced shallot
finely ground white pepper
kernels from 2 ears fresh corn
1/3 cup rinsed capers
1/3 cup white wine
2/3 cup heavy cream

directions

1. Allow tuna steaks to rest at room temperature while you make sauce.
2. In heavy medium saute pan, melt butter over medium heat and stir in shallot and corn with pinches of kosher salt and white pepper.
3. Decrease heat to medium low and stir frequently until vegetables are tender, about 4-5 minutes.
4. Add capers and white wine, increasing heat to reduce wine until you just barely see liquid.
5. Add cream and continue to reduce until sauce just coats corn, another 1-2 minutes.
6. Set aside sauce for a brief reheat once tuna is cooked.
7. Heat gas grill to medium high heat (or use cast iron grill pan on stovetop).
8. Brush tuna steaks with olive oil and season with kosher salt and black pepper.
9. Grill for 1.5 to 2 minutes each side for rare (increase time for more doneness); for rare, you will see a thin line of red at the midpoint of each steak, with the rest appearing well seared.
10. Gently and briefly reheat sauce and serve each steak atop  sauce on four serving plates.
11. Serve immediately.