Juicy Grilled Albacore & Chard Wraps

Featured: Albacore Tuna

Jennifer Burns Bright, Local Food Educator and Travel Writer

Ingredients

Serves 2

  • One medium-sized albacore loin, cut into 1 to 1.5-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 large lemon, with half juiced and the other half, sliced thinly
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
  • 2 teaspoons salt, divided in half
  • 5-6 large chard leaves
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • a few julienned red pepper and/or carrot strips

Instructions

  • Marinate the sliced albacore in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, oregano, and half the salt in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Let sit 20 minutes on the counter.
  • Bring a large pot of water to boil, and prepare an ice water bath. Using a knife, shave off most of the ribs of the chard leaves to make them pliable. Plunge leaves into the hot water to soften, then immediately plunge them into the ice water. Squeeze out water, then place in bowl for marinating.
  • Mix together wine, salt, and the rest of the olive oil, then massage into leaves.
  • Roll the wraps. With the base of a chard leaf close to you, add a piece of tuna and some oregano atop the leaf, then add a few strips of pepper/carrot and a small dollop of honey. Fold over the bottom, then the sides inward, and then roll the rest of the package. Set it on a tray seam-side down. Repeat until finished. Pour any remaining marinating liquid on the packets.
  • Grill on an oiled grate for about 10 minutes. (Alternately, bake 10-12 minutes at 400 degrees until the flesh inside turns white.) Don’t overcook. For either method, the fish should feel less like touching the soft part of your cheek and more like the feel of the tip of your nose.

Notes

  • This recipe originally appeared, in slightly altered form, in Oregon Coast magazine’s Summer 2019 issue. It’s great when you don’t want to serve Oregon albacore rare, and travels well for potlucks.
  • The recipe is good warm or chilled, and even better served with aioli.