Italian Grill - Mario Batali [35]
Add the marjoram leaves to the peppers and stir well. Season to taste with additional salt and/or pepper if necessary, and spoon the pepper stew onto a serving platter.
Lightly brush or drizzle the tuna cubes with the oil, turning the skewers as you do so. Place the skewers on the hottest part of the grill and cook for 1 minute, then carefully turn them over with tongs. Things may seem a little smoky and hectic—do not worry. Cook on the second side for 1 minute, and transfer to the platter with the peppers.
Garnish with the lemon wedges and serve immediately.
Fennel pollen, available from specialty spice purveyors (see Sources, page 232), is intensely aromatic, but if you lightly toast fennel seeds and grind them yourself, you will have a similar flavor. Make sure your grill is hot, hot, hot, and then cook the tuna for just a minute on each side, keeping it very rare and very succulent.
TUNA
LIKE FIORENTINA
SERVES 6
3 tuna steaks cut 2 to 2½ inches thick (about 3 pounds total)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Great extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Coarse sea salt
REMOVE THE TUNA from the refrigerator to come to room temperature. Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.
In a small bowl, mix the rosemary, pepper, salt, and sugar well. Pour the olive oil onto a plate. Turn the tuna steaks in the oil to coat, then place on another plate and coat well on both sides with the herb rub, patting it so it adheres.
Place the steaks over the hottest part of the grill and cook, turning once, for 2 minutes per side for rare, 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. (If you want your tuna more cooked than that, throw the steaks directly into the trash bin and buy some cans of good tuna instead.) Remove the steaks to a platter and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Cut the tuna into ¼-inch-thick slices and serve with great olive oil and coarse sea salt.
Poetic license—Florentines would never eat their tuna rare, they’d grill it until well-done or poach it slowly in olive oil. But, like bistecca alla fiorentina, this uses a big, thick cut and cooks it only until very rare. And the spice-crusted tuna, charred and striped with grill marks, does look a lot like a big steak. Allow the grilled tuna to rest, just like meat, so it’s just above room temperature when you slice it. I like to serve this with Grilled Porcini (page 208) and Thousand-Ridges Japanese Eggplant (page 213).
MACKEREL
“IN SCAPECE”
WITH AMALFI LEMON SALAD
SERVES 6
LEMON SALAD
2 thin-skinned lemons, scrubbed
2 tablespoons coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh Italian parsley leaves cut into chiffonade (thin slivers)
2 pounds freshest-possible king mackerel fillet, skin on
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine vinegar
1 medium red onion, cut into ⅛-inch-thick rounds
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon hot red pepper flakes
USING A VERY SHARP KNIFE, cut the lemons into paper-thin slices. (The salad looks prettiest with whole slices, but you may find it easier to cut the lemons lengthwise in half first and then into paper-thin half slices.)
Layer the lemon slices in a large shallow baking dish. Sprinkle evenly first with the salt, then with the sugar, and then the pepper. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Pour the olive oil evenly over the lemons. Allow to sit for 1 hour at room temperature.
Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill.
Cut the mackerel into approximately 2-inch pieces. Put them on a small baking sheet, brush on all sides with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Place the mackerel pieces skin side down on the hottest part of the grill, leaving space