Dinner Tonight: Tuna Melt
I usually eat a tuna salad sandwich about once a week as a casual lunch. But for some reason, adding a piece of Swiss cheese to the party and calling it a melt automatically catapults the sandwich into a satisfying dinner. With a side of chips or a cup of soup, it's also pure comfort food. I felt like there was no reason to get complicated with the recipe. For guidance I went straight to Saveur, which offered up this relatively bare-bones version.
It's all about the simplicity of tuna salad and melted Swiss cheese. The addition of celery is fairly common for tuna salad, but the chives and parsley may be a little less so. Neither grabs the attention, just offering a nice fragrant kick to the sandwich. Beyond that, it's all about the cheese. The key, according to Saveur, is to melt the cheese without letting it brown. I found it easiest to keep the broiler door open and peep in on the sandwich as the cheese melts. It only took me 30 seconds. Saveur recommends a piece of toast on top, to make it more of a sandwich, but I'm more of an open-faced tuna melt guy myself. Either way is fine.
Tuna Melt
- serves 2 -
Adapted from Saveur.
Ingredients
1 6-ounce can of oil-packed tuna, drained
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 celery rib, finely chopped
1/4 bunch chives, minced
2 sprigs of parsley, stems removed, leaves chopped
Salt and pepper
4 slices multigrain or sourdough bread (2 if you are doing an open-faced sandwich)
2 slices of Swiss cheese
Procedure
1. Preheat the broiler. Meanwhile, toss the tuna in a bowl and break up any large hunks with a fork. Add the mayonnaise and lemon juice and mash the mayonnaise and lemon in with a fork until incorporated.
2. Fold in the celery, chives, and parsley. Season the tuna salad with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Lightly toast each side of bread under the broiler. It should only take a few seconds per side.
4. Top two of the slices of bread with the tuna salad. Add a slice of Swiss cheese to each. Set underneath the broiler and cook until the cheese melts but does not brown. This should definitely take less than a minute, and probably closer to 30 seconds. Top each with a slice of bread if you like it like that, or leave it as an open-faced sandwich and serve.
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7 Comments:
No, no, no. Tuna, finely chopped celery, onions and pickles. Salt and pepper, maybe a little paprika. Just enough mayo to bind. Arrange on one half of a slightly-toasted bagel. Cut a thin slice of ripe tomato and put it on top. Cover with sharp cheddar. Toast under the broiler until cheese is bubbly.
NotAmerican at 5:30PM on 07/17/09
What @NotAmerican said. But on a croissant. Provolone would be good instead of cheddar.
Potato chips on the side.
dbcurrie at 6:03PM on 07/17/09
No mayo. Mayo is the most overrated condiment known to man.
Chowdahead at 7:35PM on 07/17/09
Definitely cheddar cheese or American which enhances the tuna.
No mayo?? @ chowdahead! You need a binder so what would you use???
Mayo, if only a smidgen, is a definite must!
jlew911 at 9:55PM on 07/17/09
Dude. I thought I was the only one! Except mine is tuna salad made kind of like NotAmerican said, only without onions (blech) and adding some fresh herbs in summer. Not swiss, cheddar (no Pepsi, Coke). Under the broiler for like 30 seconds.
Saveur says not to let the cheese brown? Pray tell, Saveur, how the cheese is ever going to brown under a broiler before the bread is also burnt to a black carbony crisp? That's right, never.
Oh, and it has to start on lightly toasted bread.
Also, it appears there are steps here. Specifically, steps 2, 3, and 4. Is there a 1? Could be I'm just dense. I have that problem sometimes.
Shiny Cooking at 10:35PM on 07/17/09
I hate to admit this, but cream cheese or yoghurt can be used if you have a mayo-hater. I would never stoop so low myself, though...
NotAmerican at 5:49AM on 07/18/09
Yes yes yes to the lightly toasted bread. I use a tablespoon or two of light mayo, 2 small gherkins or half a pickle (diced), and a teaspoon of italian dressing (or a splash of olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, pepper), and a pinch of thyme and caraway. Any cheese such as cheddar, provolone, swiss, and broil until bubbly.
missmaria at 2:47PM on 07/20/09