Italian tuna steak sandwich

By Trudy

Here’s a healthy Italian take on a classic steak sandwich, combining grilled tuna steak, tomato and red onion with basil pesto and lightly toasted crusty bread.

Cooking on an outdoor grill ensures everything has a lovely smokey flavor, which goes beautifully with the natural richness of tuna. Crusty bread like sourdough or ciabatta works best for this sandwich. You need thick sturdy slices to grill and sandwich the robust fillings between without going soggy and falling apart.

You can make your own pesto or use the store-bought stuff. Or try replacing the pesto with another Mediterranean-style sauce, dip or spread such as tapenade, aioli, tzatziki, baba ghanoush or hummus.

For a complete feast, we like to serve this grilled tuna sandwich with some Crispy rosemary-garlic potatoes on the side.

Italian tuna steak sandwich

Serves 2

Succulent tuna steak combined with basil pesto and grilled tomato and red onion, and encased in lightly toasted crusty bread.

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for oiling the grill
2 large tomatoes — sliced into 4 thick rounds
1 red onion — sliced into thick rounds
2 half-inch thick uncooked tuna steaks
4 thick slices crusty bread (such as sourdough or ciabatta)
4 tablespoons basil pesto

COOK the tomato and red onion together on a hot, lightly oiled grill for 4 minutes. TURN the tomato and red onion over, then add the tuna to the grill, and cook for 4 minutes, turning the tuna halfway through cooking. BRUSH the bread slices on one side with 1 tablespoon of oil, and grill for about 1 minute. SPREAD 2 tablespoons of pesto evenly over the ungrilled side of 2 slices of bread. TOP each with the grilled tuna, tomato, onion, and season with salt and pepper. PLACE the remaining 2 slices of bread on top, grilled side up. CUT each sandwich in half to serve.

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