Luxury Tuna Melt
Take tuna melt to the next level! With rich tuna flavour, intense cheesiness from Parmesan and Cheddar, egg, plus piquancy from garlic, dill, pickle, mustard, and lemon, this is the ultimate tuna melt.
Note: this recipe is for open-faced tuna melt heated under a grill. For making tuna melt sandwiches in a pan, griddle, or sandwich press, see Recipe Notes below.
The tuna mix is also good melted on top of a split open baked potato.
It's recommended that you read the accompanying blog post before starting the recipe.
Ingredients
- 140 - 150 g tinned or jarred tuna (drained weight)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs (roughly chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (finely chopped)
- ½ small - medium red onion (finely chopped)
- 1 - 2 pickled gherkins (finely chopped)
- 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 rounded tbsp dill (roughly chopped)
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- 1 tsp mild chilli flakes or red pepper flakes
- 1 small lemon (zest finely grated)
- 2 rounded tbsp mayonnaise
- 20 g Parmesan (finely grated)
- 100 g mature Cheddar cheese (coarsely grated)
- black pepper
- salt (optional)
- 4 large slices good quality, thick-cut bread
Instructions
-
Put the first 10 ingredients (i.e. from tuna to lemon zest) in a bowl and mix well with a fork.
Add the mayonnaise, the Parmesan, a small handful of the Cheddar cheese, and grind in some black pepper. Stir again to thoroughly combine.
Taste and add more seasoning if needed, including salt and a squeeze of lemon if liked.
-
Heat your grill to high and toast the bread on both sides.
Place the toast on a shallow baking tray (to catch any melting cheese).
-
Divide the tuna mixture between the slices of bread, making sure the bread is completely covered so it doesn't burn.
Sprinkle the remaining Cheddar over the slices, again completely covering them.
-
Put under the preheated grill and cook until the topping is hot and the cheese is melted, bubbling, and turning golden brown.
Serve straight away.
Unused tuna mixture can be stored for 1 day in an airtight container in the fridge.
Recipe Notes
To make Luxury Tuna Melt sandwich in a pan, on a griddle, or in a sandwich/panini press:
- make tuna mix as per recipe except add all the Cheddar.
- do not toast the bread
- divide the tuna mix between half the slices of bread then top each one with another slice
- spread the outward facing sides of the sandwiches with softened butter or mayonnaise
- Preheat a non-stick frying pan or griddle to medium-hot then put in the sandwich. Cook the first side until golden, then carefully turn and repeat with the other side. If necessary, keep turning until you have the level of doneness you want and the filling is melting and starting to ooze out a little.
- If using a sandwich/panini press, follow the manufacturer's instructions.