Bill and Denise Atwood from The Red Pheasant served this tuna preparation at the restaurant last summer to great acclaim.  The salad combination is unusual but the balance of tart, sweet, and salty combine well and it is delicious. It is worth searching out the finest tuna–try Cape Fish and Lobster in Hyannis.  

This dish is emblematic of the delicious and creative flavor combinations that Joe Dunn at The Island Merchant devises.  It takes a little time to caramelize the onions, but it’s worth it as they are magical with the goat cheese.  If you don’t have Cognac to marinate the peaches, you can use whatever is on hand (rum or port would be good) or omit it altogether.

Summer is the season when we move the bulk of our cooking out of the kitchen and onto the grill, and when vegetables, salads, and fruits move from the sidelines to the center of our plates. Keep in mind that fruit doesn’t have to be relegated to dessert; it makes a lovely savory companion to fish and meats when grilled with olive oil and sprinkled with herbs or used  in a fresh salsa as follows. The recipe is courtesy of Elsa Sampou, who offered us a batch to go with the striped bass her husband Andre caught and was kind enough to share with us. The sweet fresh fruit offsets the rich taste of the wild bass and it would also be delicious made with local peaches, although it was awfully good made with supermarket mangos. 

If possible, grill over lump hardwood charcoal as it imparts a nice smoky note to the fish, but a gas grill or even an oven at 350 degrees works just fine.