Good morning, all!

If you missed it, I had the honor of being published by the Disney Food Blog early in February. My “Photo Tour of NEW Hurricane Hanna’s Waterside Bar and Grill at the Yacht and Beach Club Resort” was my first-ever “Disney Recon”, and the most memorable part of my experience there was one of Hanna’s new dishes – their Seared Tuna. Click the link to take look!

There have been few dishes I’ve had at WDW that I’ve also been brave enough to try and make myself, and this is one of them. First of all, I’ve tried to cook tuna a number of times in the past – usually pretty poorly – but I took Hurricane Hanna’s version as a lesson. The most important learning being – you don’t have to cook the fish into the consistency of a hockey puck.

I have to admit, however, that the most notable component of Hanna’s dish was …

… the “arugula salad”. Laced with kalamata olives, grape or cherry tomatoes, and artichoke hearts, the melding of flavors is contagious. Laid out on a bed of hummus, the tuna and salad, together, were a winner.

So, what did I do? The ingredients were simple and available at my local Publix (grocery store). After buying containers of arugula, kalamata olives (packed in an herbed olive oil), and hummus, a jar of artichoke hearts, some grape tomatoes, and a nice piece of tuna, I was on my way!

I dropped a healthy serving of arugula in a big kitchen mixing bowl. After chopping up some of the olives, artichokes, and tomatoes, I added them to the arugula. Take note, I’m not giving you quantities because I feel you should add the components to your taste – not mine.

Normally, I would have used some olive oil to dress the mixture. In the end, I actually used the herbed olive oil that came with the kalamatas. I was intrigued by the fact that it contained the herbs. To finish it off, I splashed a dash of vinegar, and a bit of salt and freshly-ground pepper into the bowl. I tossed that all gently together to bring the ingredients into a tasty harmony.

Next, I tackled the fish. I coated the tuna and the bottom of a small skillet in light layers of the herbed olive oil and, after the pan was hot, placed the fish in to cook. Remember, I’m famous for turning tuna into shoe leather, so I stayed by the stove-top to watch the fish sear. When the bottom half of the tuna was cooked (turned white) about 1/8″ to 1/4″ in towards the center, I flipped it over and repeated. This left the center of the tuna rare (red). I took the fish out of the pan and set it aside to cool.

I spread the hummus onto my serving dish, placed a liberal portion of “salad” on top, and turned my attention to the slicing of the tuna. Using a long, serrated knife, I carefully sliced the tuna into pieces and laid those morsels onto the plate. The result looked and tasted delicious! Enjoy! I know I did!