Bobby Flay's Grill It! (17 page)

Thin slices of tuna quickly grilled and topped with this sweet-and-sour relish from Sicily are perfect for a light summer meal or served over peppery greens like arugula or watercress for a simple lunchtime salad.

Serves 4

1. Combine the vinegar, sugar, and raisins in a small saucepan and boil over high heat until the sugar melts and the vinegar reduces by half, about five minutes.
   
2. Combine the red and yellow peppers and capers in a medium bowl. Add the raisin mixture, extra-virgin olive oil, and the chopped parsley and stir to combine. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving. The relish can be made 1 day in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.
   
3. Heat your grill to high.
   
4. Brush the tuna on both sides with the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the tuna for 1 to 2 minutes per side.
   
5. Divide the tuna among 4 plates and immediately spoon some of the relish on top. Garnish with parsley sprigs.
   

This dish is a perfect example of why I love tuna—it stands its own against the boldest flavorings, such as this savory fennel rub. Assertive and intriguing, saffron is heralded as one of the stand-out seasonings of Spanish cuisine. It’s expensive, as a tremendous amount of work goes into producing even a minuscule quantity, but it’s worth the splurge as nothing else tastes quite like it. Saffron will also keep for quite some time if properly stored in a cool, dark place. The red peppers in the sauce only intensify the vibrant orange-red color lent by the saffron. As a final touch, grilled oranges provide a sweet hit of juice as well as a beautiful garnish.

Serves 4

1. Heat your grill to high.
   
2. Combine the fennel, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Brush both sides of the tuna steaks with 2 tablespoons of the oil and season both sides with the spice mixture.
   
3. Place the steaks on the grill and grill until golden brown and slightly charred, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip the fish over and cook to medium-rare, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
   
4. Brush the cut sides of the oranges with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Place on the grill, cut side down, and grill until slightly charred and just warmed through, 2 to 3 minutes.
   
5. Spoon or drizzle some of the sauce onto 4 large plates and top each with a tuna steak. Squeeze the juice of the grilled oranges over the tuna and sprinkle with the chives.
   

Makes approximately 1 cup

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red peppers, ½ cup water, and the saffron and bring to a simmer. Cook until the peppers are very soft and the liquid has reduced slightly, 8 to 10 minutes.
   
2. Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the vinegar, honey, and remaining 6 tablespoons oil and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the mixture is too thick to pour, thin it out with a little water. The sauce can be kept refrigerated, covered, for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.
   

The classic version of this sandwich, which originated in Nice, France, is made with canned tuna, which is delicious, but I love the taste of fresh tuna that has been slightly charred and flaked with a fork. There are a couple of rules to follow when making the sandwich: use a good crusty roll that will hold up to the oil in the dressing, because the longer you let this sandwich sit, the more the flavors soak into the bread, and the better the result. And while I normally cook my tuna to medium-rare, for this recipe, you definitely need to cook it all the way through so that it will flake properly. Don’t worry about the tuna being dry; the other ingredients will lend it flavor and moisture.

Serves 2 to 4

1. Heat your grill to high.
   
2. Brush the tuna steaks on both sides with the 2 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on both sides until just cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes and then flake with a fork. Place in a bowl with the red onion and tomatoes. Keep the grill on.
   
3. Whisk together the anchovy paste, garlic, mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, cayenne, and the ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil in a small bowl and season with salt. Pour the mixture over the tuna, add the capers and basil, and gently mix to combine.
   
4. Place the baguette on the grill, close the cover, and let the bread heat through, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the grill and slice through lengthwise. Remove some of the inside of the bread. Spread the tuna mixture evenly over the bottom half of the bread, place the top on, and press down firmly on the sandwich. Wrap the sandwich in foil and place a heavy pan on top. Let sit for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator and up to 1 day before serving. Cut into 4 pieces before serving.
   

Jerk-Rubbed Red Snapper with Green Onion and Cilantro

Grilled Halibut with Grilled Pineapple-Jicama Salsa

Grilled Fish Tacos with Chipotle Crema and Salsa Fresca

Grilled Sea Bass with Salsa Verde

Herb-Marinated Grilled Sea Bass with Piquillo Pesto

Honey-Citrus Glazed Cod with Grapefruit-Orange Relish

Grilled Cod with White Bean Relish and Tomato Vinaigrette

Grilled Tilapia with Lemon Butter and Capers

For the purposes of this book, I found it much easier and more user-friendly to create one category entitled “White Fish” than to do separate chapters for red snapper, halibut, striped bass, sea bass, cod, and tilapia. While cooking times may differ slightly and there are subtle differences in taste and texture, all these fish are similar enough to be interchangeable in these recipes. So grab the best flaky white fish that you can find and pick a recipe.

White fish have lean, flaky, and—you’ve got it—white flesh. As opposed to meatier, darker-fleshed fish such as tuna and salmon, white fish store their fat in their livers, not their muscles, so their sweet and delicate meat is very low in fat.

Due to their lean and light nature, white fish cook quite quickly and can become dry if overcooked. Many people are afraid of grilling fish because they have had bad experiences with fish sticking to the grates of the grill. The best way to avoid this is pretty simple: don’t play with your food! Do not move your fish on the grill until it is cooked enough to release on its own.

When purchasing white fish, look for sweet-smelling, firm flesh. It should smell slightly of the sea, not “fishy.” If you are buying the whole fish, as you might be with a red snapper or bass, check out the eyes. They should be clear and not at all cloudy. Most of the preparations in this chapter can be made with any white fish. It’s always a good idea to design your meal around whichever fish looks the freshest at your fish counter on shopping day; everything else is adaptable.

You may be most familiar with jerk-rubbed chicken, but the Caribbean spice mixture, at once spicy, sweet, and savory, works beautifully on red snapper fillets. This is a wet rub; the spices are pulsed to a paste with lime juice and canola oil. This really helps the flavor seep into and adhere to the fish. The finishing touch of minced green onions and cilantro is more than a lovely garnish: the verdant qualities of the two come to life when they hit the warm fish and provide a great spark of freshness to the dish.

Serves 4

1. Combine the red onion, two-thirds of the green onions, the chiles, ginger, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, salt, pepper, lime juice, and canola oil in a food processor and process until the mixture is smooth.
   
2. Put the snapper in a baking dish and spread a few tablespoons of the mixture over 1 side of each fillet. Let marinate in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
   
3. Heat your grill to medium-high.
   
4. Combine the remaining green onions and the cilantro leaves on a cutting board and chop until very fine.
   
5. Place the snapper on the grill, rub side down, and cook until golden brown and slightly charred, 3 minutes. Turn the fish over and continue grilling until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes longer.
   
6. Remove the fish from the grill and immediately sprinkle with the green onion–cilantro mixture.