Raid the Fridge Fridays: Tuna melt toasties

Amidst all of these creative Friday lunches and, in most cases, involving a literal raid of my fridge, I wondered what my favourite lunch was. Pondering this all-important issue was procrastination from my day (if you know your favourite lunch, let me know, I’m nosey!) but I had the time, and gave it some thought.

It came to me immediately.

And, coincidentally - or not considering it is my favourite lunch - it’s already written up on my blog.

So, here it is - my favourite lunch of all time. In my opinion, lunchtimes don’t get any better than this - a tuna melt.

Tuna mayonnaise is, above all others, the flavour of my youth. My mum loathed it, but she dutifully made it for us at least once a week. My sister and I were bewitched by the stuff, whether dolloped on pasta, squashed between two slices of bread and cut into triangles, or piled up high on a baked potato. It was the best thing for my mum as we believed this effortlessly easy meal was a treat! Imagine that!

Fiona and I weren’t the only ones with this weird tuna mayonnaise obsession. Whenever we had school trips and the school kitchens prepared some paper bags of sandwiches, there would always be a tussle for the precious sandwiches with tuna filling which might as well have been delicious bars of gold for how valuable they seemed.

Even though I have grown up, I don’t think my enjoyment of tuna mayonnaise has depleted. My regular order at my local Subway at university was always tuna. Right now, as I write this, I am eating tuna pasta for breakfast as my cravings couldn’t take it any longer (and also I’m a little hungover and the last thing I want right now is a bowl of annoyingly healthy porridge).

However, as I’d like to think my taste buds have matured, plain tuna mayo-sans-seasoning just doesn’t cut it for me anymore. And so, my tuna is full of grown up flavour. 6-year-old me would have been horrified by the addition of chopped jalapenos, garlic, olives and fresh herbs stirred into the mix. Let alone making it into an oozing melted toasted sandwich with cheese.

The perfect tuna melt

I have the utmost respect for the person who came up with the tuna melt. Tuna and cheese are both dominant personalities – think David Bowie and Freddie Mercury – one will over-shadow the other, so they really don’t belong between bread together yet, somehow, they find this beautiful harmony and one of the best duets in history was created along with the most delicious and irresistible toastie.

So, besides the tuna and the cheese which we all know are partners in a tuna melt, what makes this the ultimate recipe?

The rest of the tuna mayonnaise filling includes:

• Capers

• Apple

• Jalapenos

• Olives

• Garlic

• Sweetcorn

• Dijon mustard

• Lemon juice

• Fresh herbs

With these additions, classic tuna mayonnaise is full of tangy, briny flavours, muddling a balance of rich, sweet and salty. I used to serve this tuna melt on the menu at a café, and paired with crumbly mature cheddar which melted into strings in homemade sourdough, we had a winning toastie on our hands.

Now I use average sandwich bread for convenience, but I also slather the outside of the bread with melted butter and squash on a couple of extra jalapenos like decorative spicy baubles.

So, if tuna holds a special place in your heart too, but you need to prove that you’re a grown up now, this lunch is just the ticket.

Print Recipe

The ultimate tuna melt

My favourite lunch hands down. Tuna mayonnaise has had a makeover and become gourmet – simply add apple, capers, olives, herbs, and load it up in a toasted sandwich with melted cheese.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Course: Lunch

Keyword: cheese, toastie, tuna, tuna melt

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 1 can of tuna

• ½ an apple

• 1 tsp capers rinsed

• 4 jalapeno slices from a jar plus extra for garnish

• 5 small black olives

• ½ clove of garlic

• 1 tbsp sweetcorn

• ½-1 tsp Dijon or wholegrain mustard

• A couple of generous tbsp mayonnaise

• A good squeeze of fresh lemon juice

• A small handful of chopped coriander, chives or basil, or a mixture

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 4 slices of good cheddar

• 4 slices of white bread which is easy to toast

• 1 tbsp butter melted

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Drain your tuna and scrape it out of the tin into a large bowl. Tuna’s messy so have a handy roll of kitchen paper nearby.

• Dice the apple, pit and roughly chop the olives, and as well as the jalapenos and herbs. Finely slice the garlic. Chuck everything into the bowl with the capers, sweetcorn, mustard, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, then stir with a fork, breaking down the big chunks of tuna. Taste a little, and add more mayo, lemon juice, salt, or mustard if necessary.

• Lay your bread on a chopping board, line your base pieces with cheese, then split the tuna filling between both. Top with another layer of cheese, close the bread and brush with melted butter. Squash on a couple of extra jalapenos on top.

• Place the sandwiches on a lined baking tray and slide them into the oven for 10-15 minutes until the bread is toasted and gold, and the cheese is oozing everywhere.

Notes

Cooking notes: This recipe is to cook in the oven, however, it’s definitely possible to use a toastie maker. Just make sure you butter both pieces of bread to stop them from sticking.