Grilled Tuna Rolls


Okay, this picture is misleading, the title says Tuna Rolls and clearly this is a Tuna Sandwich. I opted for less bread and more filling for my lunch leftovers, and this is the picture I got. Either way, this filling is great on toast, in a roll, or even just on the lettuce as a nice salad. This recipe is one that I discovered years ago, back when we paid for satellite television and I was a Food Network junkie. If I was around and got to chose what channel the tv was on, it was usually the Food Network. I love trying new recipes and seeing new techniques for cooking, so having this channel on was a great option for me.

One show that I enjoyed watching was Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten. Her recipes were usually very doable for any home chef to make, but they had a little something extra that made them seem special. I have tried several of her recipes and perhaps should peruse a cookbook or two since I enjoy the show so much. Most often when I would watch any of those shows I would find one recipe that I would want to try, maybe two if I was lucky. On this particular episode of Barefoot Contessa, I was excited to attempt all three recipes she made that day. The episode is called Barefoot To Go and you can find the recipes here. She made these Grilled Tuna Rolls, Homemade Granola Bars, and Lentil Vegetable Soup. I have made each of these recipes and am pleased to say that I have now added them to my regular recipe rotation.

Hubby had asked about these Grilled Tuna Rolls recently since we had not had them in a long time and when he makes a point to request something I try to put it in the menu rotation as soon as I can. This week it worked out for us to make these rolls and he was happy to enjoy them. Here is the recipe for the Grilled Tuna Rolls.


I started preparing for dinner last night by taking the tuna out of the freezer first thing in the morning at breakfast and putting it in the refrigerator to thaw. Then later in the afternoon I usually take the fish out of the fridge to bring it closer to room temperature before I cook it. Since I am at home with my kids I try to have as much of dinner prepped as I can before naptime is over because once they are up the demands start and it gets harder to get these things accomplished. So while they were napping I took a few minutes to chop the red onion and green onion and mix up the sauce that would go on the tuna. I did not cut the avocado yet because I did not want it to oxidize.


I took a few minutes and picked fresh leaf lettuce and green onion from our garden to use in the rolls instead of the arugula that is used in the recipe.


This is the first year for our garden in this house and it's growing really well so far. We've had good rain so far this spring, now we just need some good sun for the tomatoes to ripen. It took me about twenty minutes to do the early preparation that I was working on.

That leaves cooking the tuna, toasting the buns, cutting the avocado and adding it to the sauce. None of these take very long and can be done together. So for these steps, I waited until Hubby was home from work to start. I heated a grill pan while slicing rolls to be toasted under the broiler. Then while the rolls were toasting I put the tuna in the pan to cook. I check on the rolls often so they do not burn, and then cut up the avocado and add it to the dressing.

When the tuna is done cooking I let it sit for a couple minutes while I put lettuce in the rolls and put them on plates. Then the tuna is cut into small pieces and put in the dressing. The tuna, avocado mix is then put in the roll and they are ready to be served. Ina served the rolls with the soup recipe on this episode. Since it is June I served the rolls with our cut vegetable tray for the week. A side of pineapple always worked well with tuna too, we just didn't have any this week.

This is a pretty quick meal to come together, even those families with two working parents could put this one together quickly. Just make sure to put that fish in the refrigerator in the morning so that it is thawed by the time you want to cook it later. Like I said this tuna avocado mixture makes a great sandwich, but it can be wonderful as a salad as well. I have enjoyed adding some grape tomatoes and celery slices to it and having on it on a larger bed of lettuce or spinach.

7:00 - place tuna in fridge to thaw
3:00 - prepare sauce and cut fresh ingredients
3:30 - start bringing tuna to room temperature
5:00 - cook tuna, toast rolls, cut avocado, finish up

Comments