This is a great summer main course that’s very easy but seems fancy and special at the same time. And even if it is easy, it’s also special since a thick, high quality piece of tuna like this is a real splurge. Every now and then, though, it’s totally worth it.

You want to use the thickest piece of tuna you can find, and high quality since it’s only going to be barely seared. At our local fish market, we were able to get a piece that was 2″ thick, which was perfect.

The only other trick is to get the grill very hot. You only want to be able to hold your hand up to the fire for about 1-2 seconds; that’s how you know it’s hot enough. Other than that, all this needs is a couple summer vegetables (we served it with simply prepared squash and zucchini, a recipe I’ll share soon) and some friends to share it with.

Seared Tuna
This rub is a variation on our favorite rub for steak, with the addition of lemon zest.

2 cloves of garlic
zest of 1 lemon
rosemary or basil, finely chopped
salt
freshly ground black pepper
high quality tuna steak(s), at least 1″ thick and preferably thicker

Make a paste of garlic, lemon zest, and equal parts (same as the garlic) herbs, salt, and pepper. (It’ll be about a half a tablespoon or so of each, but we just eyeball it.) Two cloves of garlic and the zest of one lemon, with equal parts of the other ingredients, meant we had about the right amount of rub for our 2″ thick steak, so if you’re making more, you can just scale everything up. Rub this on all sides of the tuna.

Let sit at room temperature while you prepare the grill. We like to use a charcoal grill for the flavor, though gas would be fine too. Once the grill is very hot, sear the tuna for a minute and a half per side. If it’s thick, you may need to do the edges for another thirty seconds or so each. Remove from the heat and let rest for a few minutes.

Slice thinly against the grain and serve.

I don’t put a recipe up on this site unless I think it’s worth making again, but I have to tell you — I love these pickled carrots. They’re fresh and refreshingly crunchy, sweet, sour, salty, with a little kick, and all that and healthy, too! I love to eat them as a quick pre- or post- workout snack, or as a side dish for sandwiches or salad. I even had a few on my way out the door this morning after breakfast. And before I start getting any questions – no, I’m not pregnant; they’re just that good.

Even better than how good they taste is how easy they are to make. Cutting the carrots into pieces is the most time-consuming part, and if you make a big batch, they’ll keep in the fridge for weeks.

If you like these, but aren’t so big on the spices, you might also want to try these marinated carrots from my grandmother Pat. They’re another great refrigerator staple to keep around in the summer.

Spicy Carrot Pickles
These quick pickles are a takeoff on this recipe from Bon Appetit, but with different spices. In terms of the spices, I really just used whatever I found in my cabinet, and encourage you to do the same. I think the carrots, garlic, lemon, and vinegar are about the only things essential for this recipe.

6-8 medium carrots (or about 5 large ones), cut into thin sticks, about 2″ long, or whatever shape you like, such as quarter or coins
peel from one lemon (removed in strips)
4 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
3″ piece of ginger, cut into thin sticks

1 cup water
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon chili flakes (or more if desired; with 1 teaspoon my pickles had a very mild kick, but the chili flakes I have on hand right now are pretty mild themselves)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 teaspoon dried savory
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Pack carrots, lemon peel, garlic and ginger into a one quart jar.

Combine water, vinegar, sugar, salt, and spices in a microwave safe container. Bring to a boil in the microwave, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar and salt.

Pour the brine and all the spices over the carrots (they should be covered). Let cool, close tightly, and refrigerate at least overnight. Pickles will keep for several weeks in the fridge. However, they will get spicier with time.

I have to tell you about my new favorite salad, and I’m sorry it’s taken me so long.  I know it’s getting too hot to turn the oven up to 400 degrees, and if that’s the case where you are, at least promise me you’ll bookmark this and come back to it this fall.  We (or at least I) love this so much that I think I’ve made it at least 6 times in the past two months (including twice the first week I tasted it), and I’m not usually someone to get hooked on one dish and make it over and over again.  

It’s the perfect one dish meal.  It all comes together in about a half hour – there’s just enough time to get everything else together while the cauliflower roasts.  It’s pretty balanced, with plenty of protein from the beans and cheese, so it sticks with you.  But at the same time it’s pretty healthy and tastes very fresh from the lemon juice.  And if cauliflower and fennel are in season (I know, we’re probably getting late for that, but just bookmark it, ok?), then it’s really pretty cheap, too.  So see, what are you waiting for?

My inspiration here was this recipe from The Kitchn, which was in turn inspired by a recipe from Bon Appétit.  I wasn’t sold on raw cauliflower though, so I took essentially the same ingredients but roasted the caulfilower.  I’ve also switched out the cheese for whatever I have on hand, including feta, blue cheese, goat cheese, or parmesan.  It’s all delicious. I’ve also eaten it warm (when it’s fresh, the roasted cauliflower warms up the other ingredients just enough), room temperature, and cold. I usually like it best at whatever temperature it’s at when I’m eating it.

Oh and one last thing – even if you think you don’t like cauliflower, you’ve got to try it roasted.  It’s a totally different thing – it becomes sweet and caramelized and a tad crunchy – delicious!

Cauliflower, Fennel, and White Bean Salad

adapted from The Kitchn

1 large head cauliflower
smoked paprika, optional
3 cloves garlic
1 bulb fennel (plus, optionally, some of the leaves)
1 can white beans
1/2 cup crumbly cheese, such as feta, blue, goat, or even shaved parmesan
1 lemon
a few tablespoons fresh chopped herbs, such as parsley, chives, or thyme
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (the good stuff if you’ve got it) + more (not the good stuff) for the cauliflower
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
arugula or other greens for serving, optional

Preheat oven to 425 F. Chop florets of cauliflower into pretty small, bite-size pieces (it’ll cook faster the smaller the pieces). Spread on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and, if desired, smoked paprika. Roast at 425 F, giving it a good stir every ten minute or so. When it’s starting to get soft, add 3 cloves of garlic, minced. (If you add the garlic at the beginning, it gets too browned.)

You want the cauliflower to get nice and browned around the edges, which will take about half an hour if it’s in pretty small pieces. That leaves you plenty of time to get the rest of the ingredients ready, make the dressing, and have a glass of wine.

Cut the fennel bulb into very thin slices. I use a mandoline for this and set it to 1/8″ or 1/16″ slices, but if you don’t have one you can use a sharp knife. Place fennel in a large bowl. I usually snip some of the fennel fronds in there, too. Rinse the white beans and add them to the fennel. Crumble the cheese over the beans. Zest the lemon into the bowl, too. Add the chopped herbs, and toss all this gently together.

Prepare the dressing: whisk together 1/3 c olive oil, the juice from the lemon, the red wine vinegar, and the mustard. (The mustard will allow the oil and vinegar/juice to emulsify.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Once the cauliflower is roasted and browned, add it to the bowl with the fennel and beans, pour the dressing over, and toss everything together gently. Serve alone, or on a bed of greens.

Like the Artichoke Spinach Lasagne, this recipe comes from Jessica’s friend Carrie. I’ve tried several recipes for fish tacos in the past (this one we’ve posted before is also pretty good), but I think these are my favorites. Though it has a lot of components to assemble, the actual cooking time is pretty quick. We’ve adapted them a bit from Carrie’s original recipe, and they allow a lot of room for modification.

And a tip for using the extra chipotles in adobo you’ll have leftover: chop some and combine with drained greek yogurt, garlic, and salt for a fiery but delicious dip for multi-grain chips. (This one comes from my friend Oliver, and I’ll try to share a more formal “recipe” at some point.)

Carrie Geddie’s Fish Tacos
Carrie says, “Everything tastes better after the flavors have had a chance to meld, so plan on leftovers.”

Honey-Lime Slaw
1/3 c fresh lime juice
2 T honey
1 T vegetable oil
1 t ground cumin
2 c three-color coleslaw blend
1/4 c cilantro

Chipotle Mayo
1/2 c mayonnaise or sour cream
2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 T adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
1/4 t salt

Fish
4 tilapia filets (or other white fish such as mahi, grouper, etc. Carrie also says that frozen breaded tilapia works well)

about 8 small corn of flour tortillas
mango, cut into chunks (optional)

For Honey Lime Slaw: whisk together lime juice, honey, vegetable oil, and ground cumin in a small bowl. Pour over coleslaw and cilantro. Mix thoroughly.  Do this first and allow to sit in the refrigerator for a bit for all the flavors to meld.

For the Chipotle Mayo: Place all mayonnaise ingredients together in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Cover, and refrigerate until needed.

For the fish: if using fresh tilapia, sprinkle with cumin, a small amount of cayenne pepper, and salt. Heat a small amount of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook the fish about 3-4 minutes per side, until it flakes easily with a fork. Remove from the pan and flake it into bite-sized pieces. (If using other kinds of fish, cook according to your preferences, or the package instructions if using frozen fish.)

Assembly: Heat the tortillas, one or two per taco in a skillet until warm. Add some fish, slaw, chipotle mayo, and mango, if using, to each taco. Carrie suggests serving with Spanish rice and beans, though you can see we went the lazy, unhealthy route and just served it with tortilla chips!

Sorry for the long hiatus — hopefully I’ll be back around here a bit more!

This is another recipe that comes from the cookbook I made for Jessica.  It was sent to me by her friend Carrie Geddie, who found the original recipe at All Recipes. It’s a delicious vegetarian lasagna, and was one of Matt’s favorites of the recipes we sampled. I’m sure it would also be a great make-ahead and freeze to cook as needed type of meal. Thanks for sharing, Carrie!

Artichoke Spinach Lasagne

9 uncooked lasagna noodles
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 (14 ounce) can marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
1 (28 ounce) jar tomato marinara sauce
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1 (4 ounce) package herb and garlic feta, crumbled

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9″ x 13″ casserole dish with cooking spray or butter.

Boil a large pot of salted water. Cook noodles according to package directions or until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic for a few minutes, until onion is translucent. Add in broth and fresh rosemary. Bring to a boil. Stir in artichoke hearts and spinach. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in jar of marinara sauce.

Spread 1/4 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish. Top with 3 cooked noodles. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella cheese over noodles. Repeat layers 2 more times, ending with tomato sauce mixture. Sprinkle crumbled feta on top.

Bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover, and bake 15 minutes more, until hot and bubbly and the cheese is beginning to brown. Let it rest 10 minutes before serving.