Grilled Tuna Rolls

I had the Food Network on in the background while I was cleaning up my room a few weekends ago and I heard snippets of Ina Garten create this lunch on the go. She made grilled tuna rolls with some homemade granola bars. I thought I'd make a mental note to keep this in mind for a picnic menu for the summer.

When I heard Ina say Grilled Tuna Rolls, I thought she was going to make sushi rolls, but turns out it's more like a grilled tuna salad on a hot dog bun. hahaha. I wasn't planning on making this for awhile, but when I was at the market and they had tuna steaks on sale, I couldn't resist! I didn't write down the recipe, but I vaguely remembered the ingredients. I improvised with what I had at home and it turned out pretty well. It's a bit messy to eat so not sure this is good picnic food, but at least I was able to test it out. The original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of salt to the marinade, but I thought it was way too salty, especially since you are also adding soy sauce and the tuna is seasoned as well. I'd start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more to taste. I had to add an additional avocado to this since it was way too salty.

Grilled Tuna Rolls

Barefoot Contessa

Good olive oil

1 pound very fresh tuna steak, 1-inch thick

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lime, zest grated

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes) (I only had 1 lemon so I squeezed the heck out of that sucker, probably amounted to 2 tablespoons worth)

1/2 teaspoon wasabi powder

1 teaspoon soy sauce

5 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)

1 firm, ripe Hass avocado, medium-diced

1/4 small red onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced scallion, white and green parts (I substituted with cilantro)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds (optional)

9 hot dog rolls, grilled or toasted

1 bunch baby arugula, washed and spun dry

Heat a charcoal grill with hot coals. Brush the grill with oil. Brush both sides of the tuna with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cook the tuna over the hot coals for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side.

(If you don't want to heat a grill, you can sear the tuna in a dry saute pan over high heat. Heat the pan for 2 minutes, add the tuna steaks and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side until seared on the outside and still raw inside.)

Remove to a plate. The tuna should be seared on the outside and raw inside. Allow to cool and cut into cubes.

For the dressing, whisk together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the lime zest, lime juice, wasabi powder, soy sauce, hot sauce, 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.

Toss the avocado in the dressing and then add the tuna, red onion, scallion and sesame seeds. Toast the rolls and line them with arugula leaves, fill with the tuna mixture and serve.

Quite messy to eat, but quite delicious. The peppery arugula is perfect for this sandwich. It needs that bitterness to balance out the creaminess a bit and it brings out the nuttiness of the avocados as well.

Just beware, this makes a lot of sandwiches. I should have cut down on the recipe, but I didn't think it through so I was eating this for lunch and dinner for days. I am going on a Grilled Tuna Roll fast for awhile.