C – If you request a tuna melt at Be Mindful. Be Human., you won’t get your normal tuna melt.
Honestly, many of our recipes are like that. Ask for a salad, you will get a fancy salad with 20 different items in it, including a homemade dressing. Ask for a soup, and you will probably get one that is very flavorful and different.
It’s normal to us. Yeah, we do make simple recipes, Usually these are recreations of a restaurant dish which fell short of what we like.
Jim doesn’t like normal tuna melts. I honestly never had one or even knew what a tuna melt was. I brought the idea up and Jim’s brain started working. I could imagine all those wonderful gears working in his head at that moment.
Jim says: “Lets not use canned tuna. I don’t like the stuff. Let’s use Ahi tuna instead and melt good cheese.”
Me: “Um, I am not sure what goes into a real tuna melt.”
He says: “It’s usually canned tuna mixed into a salad with celery and mayonnaise, then cheese is melted on top of it. It’s disgusting. Ours should be with a whole piece of ahi on top of the sandwich”
Me: “We need something more than just fish and cheese. That just doesn’t sound right.”
I honestly just wanted to try one. It just didn’t feel right to have just fish and melted cheese. After doing some research, a lot of people made tuna melts with mixed-in mayonnaise and some vegetables. I didn’t want to leave these things out of the sandwich. It’s part of the entire experience. So, I made an egg salad to put in the sandwich.
The sandwich tasted great. I loved the tuna steak on top. I loved the egg salad on the bottom of the sandwich. It made this sandwich creamy and crunchy with all sorts of wonderful flavors.
| Sandwich Monday: Seared Ahi Tuna Melt |
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 4 oz fresh Ahi tuna
- 2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
- ½ Fresno chili, minced
- ¼ red onion, chopped finely
- 2 Tbsp pickles, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 Tbsp parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- Pinch cayenne
- ⅛ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- Fontina cheese or other white cheese, shredded
- 4 inch Ciabatta bun, bottom part only
- Preheat broiler.
- In a mixing bowl, add chopped eggs, chili, onion, pickles, celery, parsley, garlic powder, cayenne, paprika, mayonnaise, mustard, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and set aside until ready to use. This can be made a day ahead.
- Toast the Ciabatta bun.
- Salt and pepper both sides of the tuna.
- In a medium saute pan, heat on medium heat. Sear the steak for about 2 minutes on each side, or until Ahi is about ¼ inch cooked through and rare in the middle. Remove from pan.
- Place the egg salad mixture on top of the bun. Top it with the Ahi. Top with a generous amount of cheese.
- Place under the broiler for 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese has melted and slightly golden brown. Keep a close watch, being careful not to burn the cheese.
- Sprinkle with more parsley to garnish.
- Serve.
- Enjoy!
I like tuna meats, especially when there os a big piece of fish on top of the whole thing. I think I wouldn’t mind trying the canned tuna, if there was nothing other than the canned and I was just trying to survive. But, for pure pleasure, this sandwich is the way to go.
Glad we finally agree on how to make an incredible tuna melt sandwich, Jim.