Recipe: The Gretna "Powwa Tuna Sammich"
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
Edited by Stacy Schroeder
Alex Kinzey is one of three local amateur chefs who competed in the 2026 Great Gretna Plate, a cooking competition hosted by Mount Gretna Magazine. The challenge? Create a hand-held dish using the provided pantry and mystery ingredients within a one-hour window. A full event recap, plus bonus content, is linked at the bottom of this story. This post is all about the FOOD.
Alex and sous chef Jeff Spangler prepared a “powwa tuna sammich” — curry-infused tuna salad with grapes, celery, and candied pecans, layered between toasted rye bread with melted cheese. Read on for Alex’s recipe plus links to additional recipes and video interviews of the chefs.
The Gretna "Powwa Tuna Sammich"
Makes four sandwiches
INGREDIENTS
18 oz canned tuna, drained
3 T nonfat Greek yogurt
3 T light mayonnaise
2 T curry powder
2 T mango chutney (or similar preserves/jams)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp fine ground black pepper
1 cup pecans, chopped in quarter-inch size pieces
Honey
2/3 cup red grapes, diced
1/3 cup celery, diced
2 T green onions
Rye bread
Butter
Shredded cheddar-jack cheese
INSTRUCTIONS
Curry the tuna: Mix together tuna, yogurt, mayonnaise, curry powder, chutney, salt, and pepper in a bowl and set aside to marinate while preparing the other steps.
Candy pecans to top the tuna mixture before closing the sammich for eatin’: Start with 1 cup of pecans chopped into approximately quarter-inch size pieces, spread them out in a preheated cast-iron skillet and warm them until they become aromatic, then drizzle them lightly but thoroughly with honey while the pecans continue to warm. Stir them mildly until the honey glazing becomes fairly “gooey” then transfer them out of the skillet and onto a cooling surface (i.e. cool pan, plate, or cutting board). Let them cool and mildly harden. Once they are back down to room temperature or close to it, they are ready to be used in the sammich.
Add final tuna salad ingredients: Mix in the grapes, celery, and green onions.
Toast, cheese, and assemble for delivery to the hungry crowd!: For each sandwich: Butter one side of each of the two slices of rye bread. Place them in a preheated cast-iron skillet over low heat, buttered side down. Immediately add a layer of shredded cheddar-jack cheese to one slice of bread (or both if you love cheese) and toast the bread and melt the cheese at the same time by covering the skillet with a lid. Toast as you see fit. Then when ready, place toast on serving plate, add tuna salad mixture to the untoasted side, then a single layer of candied pecans, and close the sandwich for transportation to the table!
FOR MORE:
For more on our chefs — including Alex’s interview and his feelings about pea soup — head to our YouTube playlist.
Read more in In the Kitchen with Alex.
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