The warm weather we’ve enjoyed over the last few weeks has brought with it the first local asparagus of the season, and a craving for fresh, light meals after a winter full of soups and stews. Now that the sun is out, and still up when we’re making dinner, we decided it was time to fire up the grill for the first time in 2010.
Tender asparagus, beautiful tuna and a gift of meyer lemons put me in mind of a big nicoise salad. One of my favorite lunches, I was a bit worried whether I could make a dinner version to satisfy the guys, so I expanded the ingredients a bit beyond the traditional. It was hard getting it all onto this platter:
Some meals just feel good. This dish was healthy, delicious and even fun to eat, and best of all, it was simple and quick to make. Here is the play-by-play of 20 min from the door to the table:
1. Set two pots to boil:
- one small, with a half dozen eggs, covered (shut off flame when water boils)
- one large, with a 2lb bag of fingerling potatoes, cut into ½ inch slices
2. Open a bottle of 2008 Chardonnay. Pour yourself a big glass. Light the grill.
3. Juice three or four meyer lemons through a strainer. Mix with an equal amount of good olive oil. Add a minced shallot, a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, and a pinch of a few herbs as you wish (I used thyme, basil, oregano).
4. Lightly coat tuna and asparagus with olive oil. Take your glass of chard with you out to the grill and cook the fish and veggies as much as you like (I like the tuna rare and asparagus crunchy).
5. When done grilling, bring it all back in and refill your glass as needed.
6. Slice a few tomatoes & avocados (and because I had one, section a blood orange). The eggs are done – peel and quarter them.
7. The potatoes are done too. Drain the potatoes and toss with a few tablespoons of the lemon dressing.
8. Arrange a bed of arugula on a platter. Arrange the potatoes, veggies and eggs around the edges. Break the tuna into smaller pieces and pile in the center. Pour the rest of the dressing over everything and top with a handful of nicoise olives.
Hopefully you’ve left enough Chardonnay in the bottle to enjoy with dinner. I didn’t so we opened a 2007 Pinot Noir, and it went pretty well too.
The only thing that would have been better is a warm evening to eat outside. In a few weeks, it will truly be Spring, and hopefully you’ll soon have that option.
