The recipe is from the April issue of Food & Wine magazine, in the "fast" cooking feature — this one takes all of 30 minutes.

The recipes were developed by Katy Sparks, a chef and food-market culinary director, who likes to treat tuna steaks like beef. Here, she wraps them in bacon as she would a beef tenderloin, which not only adds a subtle smoky flavor to the fish but also keeps it moist.

For the salad, creamy avocado complements the crisp, feathery frisee (a member of the chicory family), tossed with a simple vinaigrette dressing.

Bacon-Wrapped Tuna Steaks With Frisee and Avocado Salad

• 4 slices smoked bacon
• 1-pound tuna steak, 1-inch thick, cut into 4 pieces
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 head frisee, torn into bite-size pieces (about 4 cups)
• 2 Hass avocados, thinly sliced

Lay the bacon strips on a cutting board and place a piece of tuna in the center of each; season with salt and pepper. Fold the bacon around the tuna and secure with toothpicks.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the tuna and cook over moderately high heat, turning once, until the bacon is crisp and the tuna is still pink inside, about 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil with the vinegar; season with salt and pepper. Toss in the frisee and avocados and transfer to plates.

Remove the toothpicks from the tuna and cut each piece in half. Arrange the tuna over the frisee and serve right away, drizzling any remaining dressing left in the bowl over the fish.

Makes 4 servings.