GRILLED ALBACORE WITH TOMATO-HERB SALAD

15 TO 20 MINUTES (12 ACTIVE)

4 SERVINGS AND 1 LUNCH THE NEXT DAY

My husband rolls his eyes at me (lovingly, I’m sure) when I get on the subject of tuna. I went albacore fishing once, and I now act like Ernestine Hemingway. It was a truly exciting fight with those silvery fish (and my balance) as they dove down, down, down into the open ocean. It was also a thrill to eat my bounty in dozens of different dishes. Albacore tuna is the West Coast’s secret summer fish. It shows up late in the season and gets incredibly inexpensive at the market. It’s a brilliant grilling fish, and it tastes great cold the next day, too. The best thing about line-caught Pacific albacore is that, for the moment at least, it’s not heavily overfished like bluefin, and because it’s a smaller fish, it doesn’t accumulate as much mercury as its bigger cousins. Line-caught yellowtail is also a good choice.

A bright and vibrant assortment of the summer’s best tomatoes is the perfect accompaniment to fish stories of all sorts.

•  1½ pounds albacore or yellowtail tuna fillets

•  1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed

•  Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

•  1 tablespoon olive oil

•  Olive or canola oil, for the grill

•  Flaky sea salt to taste

•  1 batch Tomato Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Build a charcoal fire or preheat a grill to medium-high heat.

If the tuna loin is very wide, cut it lengthwise into 2 sections, so that no piece is wider than 3 inches across. Combine the coriander and fine sea salt and pepper. Rub the tuna with the oil and season it with the coriander mixture.

Scrape the grill well with a brush and, using tongs, rub the grate with an oil-coated paper towel. Lay the tuna on the grate and cook each side until opaque and lightly browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Continue cooking until medium-rare, about 3 more minutes: the meat should be a bit translucent at the center but not chilly and raw.

Cut the tuna loin into 1-inch-wide slices, garnish with flaky sea salt, and serve with the tomato salad.