Fresh Cherry and Seared Sesame Tuna Salad

Now that summer is fully upon us here in Wisconsin, I don’t feel so inclined to actually cook a whole lot for meals. Especially when I spend the majority of my days now in a hot work kitchen! I just have to say… If you think 80° and humid is bad, try standing in front of a wood-fired pizza oven set at 490° AND include the humidity! Or stand over a flat-top stove or grill in that weather! Suddenly, 80° and humid sounds kinda nice… Lol
The heat aside, though, I really do love what I’m doing now. And I want to take the time to apologize to all of my readers for not posting much lately… I started a third job this past week, so I feel like I’ve been running around like a crazy person. I even had to start putting my schedules for all three jobs into the calendar on my cell phone, because I was having such a hard time keeping track of everything! But, I put my two-weeks notice in at one of the jobs, so after this coming Sunday, I will be on a regular schedule and will have a little bit of free time to myself. This means, a little more time to get back to blogging! YAY!!
Also, the past week and a half has been a little hectic around here anyways… My sister is a biology teacher at a high school where we live, and she takes her students to Belize every summer for a week and a half to study the rainforests and all that good stuff. Her husband goes with to help chaperone, so my mom and I watched their two boys while they were gone. Thankfully, Aunt Joanne came to town, from the twin cities, to help out! Believe me, it was definitely needed!!
Being that it’s been so hot and humid out, salads always sound good and so I made this yummy treat one night while we were watching the boys. Mama had taken the boys …somewhere… and then took them to the park to wear them out, and I made dinner while they were gone. The boys had one of their favorites – crescent roll hot dogs – and I made this salad for mama and myself. Everything tasted so fresh, and it definitely hit the spot!

Printable Recipe

Sesame Cherry Marinade:
2 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 c. 100% Montmorency cherry juice

Cherry Vinaigrette:
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. 100 Montmorency cherry juice
½ tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. honey
Pinch salt
¼ c. olive oil

1 (8 oz.) tuna steak
1 oz. sesame seeds
Mixed salad greens
4 oz. crumbled Feta cheese
½ lb. fresh Bing cherries, halved and pitted

For the Cherry Vinaigrette: Mix all of the ingredients well, except the olive oil, in a small bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking continuously, until it is well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
For the tuna: Mix the marinade ingredients together and coat the tuna steaks with the marinade, cover tightly, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, remove the tuna steaks from the marinade, coat with sesame seeds on both sides, and sear them for a minute to a minute and a half on each side (even a little longer if you want the tuna less rare). Remove the tuna from the pan and slice into ¼-inch thick slices.
Arrange the salad greens in a bowl; sprinkle some of the Feta cheese and halved cherries on top of the greens, top with the sliced tuna steak, and drizzle with vinaigrette.