fuckyeahtunamelts: Tuna Melt Hugo’s chef Rob...

Tuna Melt

Hugo’s chef Rob Evans on how to make a tuna melt. Not a straight-from-the-can tuna sandwich. An Italian tuna, Gruyère cheese, charred-rosemary mayonnaise tuna sandwich.

A tuna sandwich is a great, inexpensive way to eat fish. But tuna packed in water cannot compare to the flavor offered by good-quality imported Italian tuna packed in virgin olive oil. So dense and chunky it can actually look like pulled chicken, canned tuna in oil delivers a rich, meaty taste, particularly when mixed with a quality mayonnaise, like this one: I use a soft poached egg because it reduces the amount of oil necessary and produces an almost velvety texture. While the runny yolk can be smoothly emulsified, the whites stabilize the mayonnaise.

This mixture can actually be gently warmed without breaking down, used as a sauce on cooked fish, or served as a dipping sauce for fried potatoes. The bits of charred rosemary add earthiness to the mayonnaise, giving it some depth. But the trick is balancing the fattiness with the natural acidity of fresh lemon juice — that’s what keeps it from becoming boring or too heavy. The flavor difference will leave people wondering why your sandwich is so familiar yet so much better.

Ingredients

8 oz Italian tuna packed in olive oil, drained, with 1 tbsp oil reserved

Charred-rosemary mayonnaise (see below)

1/8 cup celery hearts, finely chopped

1/2 tsp celery seed

Coarse salt and ground black pepper

4 slices multigrain bread

4 slices (about 4 oz) Gruyère cheese

Unsalted butter

Instructions

Gently flake tuna and place in stainless-steel bowl. Fold in desired amount of mayo, chopped celery, and celery seed, adding salt and pepper to taste. Lay bread on work surface. Spread tuna on two slices and layer with Gruyère. Top with remaining bread slices and press lightly with the palm of your hand to bring tuna just to the edges of each sandwich. Melt a small amount of butter in a skillet over low heat and toast sandwiches until cheese melts and bread is golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to cutting board and cut in half on diagonal. Serve immediately.

How to Make Charred-Rosemary Mayonnaise

Ingredients

2 stalks fresh rosemary

4 cups water

1 tsp white vinegar

1 large egg, cracked

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp Dijon mustard

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Reserved tuna oil

Instructions

Lightly char rosemary (hold stems with tongs and rotate through burner flame for about 10 seconds), strip leaves, and finely chop (yields about 1 tbsp). Bring 4 cups water to boil, reduce to simmer, and add vinegar. Ease egg into water, cooking until whites set but yolk is still runny, about 2 minutes. Transfer egg (as dry as possible) to blender (or bowl of food processor) with lemon juice and Dijon mustard. Slowly add oils, processing until thick and creamy. Add rosemary. Makes about 1 cup.

-Sorry Ladies, apparently this one ain’t for you (Do it anyway, Ladies, fight the power!). Coming to us from “Esquire’s recipes for Men”, this has got to be one of the ~~sexiest~~ best looking tuna melts I’ve come across. If I wasn’t so busy running this blog, I might just make one myself

“Sorry Michelle, it’s over. I can’t hide it anymore; I’m in love with this tuna melt”