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Uh, I can’t stop eating cherries.
Much like everyone else, I get incredibly excited over seasonal fruit.
Last month, I just couldn’t get enough blueberries; I ate theses blueberry banana oat crumb muffins daily, and I even indulged in these blueberry lemon vodka fizz quite a bit. And it was fabulous! But this month, it’s all about my mad love for the highly anticipated ruby-hued cherry.
I’ve always been partial to cherry-flavored treats — freeze pops, fruit snacks, gummies — whatever the delicacy, red has forever been my jam. But over the years my tastebuds have matured, and now I’ll take a bowlful of actual cherries over that junky stuff any (and every) day of the week.
It was while snacking on these beauties last week when I got caught up in thinking about creating a fun and seasonal dish for the blog… and that I should probably save some of my cherries in order to do so.
(I didn’t save any. I had to buy another huge bag.)
I couldn’t bring myself to bake anything with them, however. I wanted to do something exciting — something unexpected! I wanted to bring something savory to life with these sweet ‘n juicy gems.
And I just happened to have a beautiful fillet of Ahi tuna to work with. Aw yissss.
This cherry salsa was inspired by a Martha Stewart recipe. I’m no stranger to marrying fruits and hot peppers — it was a success in my Shrimp Tacos With Mango Habanero Salsa and in my Grilled Jerk Fish Tacos With Tangy Peach Salsa — so plucking a Cubanelle from my container garden and adding it to the mix seemed like the right thing to do.
But why would you smother a pristine ahi tuna steak?
Worry not, purists. I’ve always got you in mind, and I can assure you that this toss up of tangy chopped cherries is mild in flavor. It brings a subtle bit of sweetness, a slight punch, and just enough acidity to compliment the fillet and let it shine in all of it’s Ahi greatness.
Making this recipe? Snap a pic and tag me on Instagram: @Killing__Thyme /#killingthyme. For more delish eats, follow me on INSTAGRAM + PINTEREST.
Grilled Ahi Tuna With Cherry Salsa
Ingredients
- 2 4-6 oz ahi tuna steaks
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Cherry Salsa
- 1 cup Bing cherries, pitted and chopped
- 2 TBSP minced red onion
- 2 tsp cubanelle pepper, minced, a fair substitute to cubanelles is the Anaheim pepper
- 1 TBSP fresh-squeezed lime juice
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp (packed) fresh chopped parsley, you can use cilantro if you like cilantro
- Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
Instructions
Cherry Salsa
- Add all of the ingredients for the cherry salsa into a bowl and mix until well blended. Set aside.
Ahi Tuna
- Heat a cleaned grill to high heat and season it with oil to ensure your fillet doesn't stick. You can do this by dipping a paper towel in cooking oil and wiping it over the grates to season them. Do this about 4-5 times.
- Brush the fish with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Grill each side for only 1.5 to 2 minutes. The center should be raw and lukewarm to the touch, or the tuna will be tough and dry.
- Let the tuna rest for 5 to 10 minutes; serve with the cherry salsa.
Dana, this is such an inspired dish! I bet the cherries and slight heat work wonderfully with ahi tuna. If I can get my hands on a nice fillet I’m going to give this a go this month!