Recipe · SANDWICH
Tuna Melt Sandwich
A tuna melt fails in one of two ways, and they pull in opposite directions.
The first is water. Tinned tuna holds a lot of liquid and a fork is not enough to get it out — you have to press the fish against the side of the tin and pour off what collects. Skip it and the moisture goes into the bread from the inside while the pan is drying the outside, which is how you get a sandwich that is simultaneously crisp and soggy.
The second is fat. It is tempting to mayonnaise the filling until it is properly creamy, but you are about to add 80 g of cheddar, which will contribute a good deal of its own fat as it melts. Dress the tuna more lightly than you want to; the sandwich will end up richer than the bowl suggested.
Then keep the pan at medium-low. The cheese in the middle needs longer to melt than the bread needs to brown, so a hot pan gets you a dark sandwich with a cold seam of solid cheddar through it.
Recipe
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 tin tuna, about 145 g, drained very well
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 stick celery, finely diced
- 1 tbsp capers or diced pickle
- A squeeze of lemon
- Black pepper
To assemble
- 4 slices bread
- 80 g mature cheddar, grated
- Butter, softened
Method
- Drain hard. Press the tuna against the side of the tin with a fork and pour off everything that comes out. Wet tuna makes a sandwich that collapses.
- Dress lightly. Fork it together with the mayonnaise, celery, capers, lemon and plenty of pepper. Use less mayonnaise than feels right — the cheese is about to add its own fat.
- Assemble. Butter the outside faces of the bread. Fill with the tuna and the grated cheddar, keeping the cheese against the top slice.
- Press and melt. Cook in a dry pan over medium-low heat with something heavy on top, about 3 minutes a side, until the bread is dark gold and the cheese has visibly gone.
Worth knowing
- Medium-low, not high: the cheese in the middle needs longer than the bread does, and a hot pan gives you a burnt sandwich with a cold core.