What happened to spring? Do you all remember spring? These days it seems like one day I’m wearing my winter coat to work and turning on the heat, the next I’m in shorts. Today was one of those summer days where you just want to drink at the beach all day…except it is the first week in May!

I stopped down my favorite local fish market, Steve Connolly Seafood without much of a dinner plan, but I knew with temperatures in the 80’s F I didn’t want to make baked haddock or fish pie. I looked around the counter (sorry no pics, it was busy in there and I didn’t want to be THAT guy) and saw lots that I would like including halibut, wild salmon and swordfish. What looked the best on this trip however, were the yellowfin tuna (ahi) steaks. I picked out two good-looking steaks that came out to just about 1.5 pounds.

I had things to do that evening so I decided to do a simple prep using olive oil, garlic, lemon juice and zest, that I have used before on swordfish. After whipping up this quick marinade I put the steaks in a plastic bag until I got back home – a little over an hour.

The grill is not set up yet, so I broke out the grill pan and cooked the ahi steaks for about 5-6 minutes per side. I know a lot of people, and most restaurants cook their tuna to still be red in the middle. I like my tuna either completely cooked or completely raw, and so ours came out with just a hint of pink in the center. Served upon a bed of arugula these steaks were just what we needed on this all-too-warm first week of May.

Some of you would probably find this tuna too well-done, but trust me, with that marinade it was in no way dry.

The lemon and the hint of garlic played second fiddle to the delicious flavor of the tuna. I probably could’ve gotten away with a longer marinade time, but it was perfect  just the way it was.

Although I like swordfish better, a nice fresh piece of grilled ahi tuna is another great steak-like fish that I associate with the coming summer. Hopefully this great dinner is a sign of things to come.