Erica De Mane

Recipes:

Tuna Spiedini with a Fennel Marinade
Green Tomato Salad with Mozzarella, Pine Nuts, and Basil
Grilled Corn on the Cob
Peaches with Red Wine

Tuna Spiedini with a Fennel Marinade

Take about 2 pounds of thick tuna steak and cut it into approximately 2-inch chunks. Thread them onto 4 long skewers, alternating with chunks of red onion, bulb fennel, and lemon slices. Lay the skewers on a platter. Sprinkle them with fennel seeds, olive oil, and a splash of Pernod or another pastis. Turn them around a few times to distribute all the ingredients. Cover and let sit for about 1/2 hour to develop flavor.

Grill the spiedini (spiedini is the Italian word for shish kebab) over medium heat, about 4 inches from the flame, turning them once or twice and seasoning them with salt and black pepper as you grill them. About 4 or 5 minutes of total grilling should do it (you’ll want to leave the fish pink at the center). Place the spiedini on a serving platter, and drizzle on some fresh olive oil and a tiny splash more of pastis. Garnish with chervil or a few sprigs of tarragon. Serve hot. I’d choose a medium-bodied, slightly acidic red wine to serve with this. Try a Cerasuola di Vittoria from Sicily.

Green Tomato Salad with Mozzarella, Pine Nuts, and Basil

You can toast pine nuts on the low-heat area of your grill if you lay them out on a sheet of aluminum foil, but keep a close eye on them, as they can go from creamy white to black in a matter of seconds. I’d just use them raw. Take about 3 green tomatoes and slice them into thin rounds (I like them when they’re slightly tinged with red). Slice a small ball of mozzarella. Alternate slices of both, along with basil leaves, on a serving platter. Top with the pine nuts, drizzle on your best olive oil, and give it all a sprinkle of sea salt. Garnish with a few chopped chives, if you like. I think this salad is best without black pepper, so you can appreciate its creamy and sour notes in their pure form.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Select about two ears per person, and pull the corn’s husk back, leaving it still attached at the base. Now pull out as much of the corn silk as possible. Drizzle the ears with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Then pull the husk back up, to cover the ears as much as possible. Twist the top of the husk so it closes. Dunk the husks in water for a few seconds, and then throw them on a slow grill, letting them steam-grill and turning them every few minutes, until they are hot and tender. This will probably take about 10 minutes of grilling in all.

Peaches with Red Wine

Here’s a backyard barbecue dish from my childhood. My father always made it with an acidy Chianti wine, but if you choose the Cerasuola di Vittoria I suggest with this meal, that will do perfectly. All you need to do is slice a few peaches into thick wedges and place them in a large bowl. Pour in enough red wine to cover them about halfway. Toss a few times and serve.