If you're anything like me you're using this quarantine to 1) make and 2) eat all of the food. Although I'm not loving staying in the house all the time I am loving all the time I have to create new recipes and reap the rewards of them - getting to share them with you and getting to eat them! Today was a rainy gloomy day and I found myself craving a big, fat, savory, cheesy tuna melt.
In came this sandwich to save the day. I don't like mayo, so I used a combination of two other things to make the tuna salad nice and creamy. Keep reading to find out what it was and get the full recipe!
DAIRY + MAYO FREE TUNA MELT
Ingredients
2 slices sourdough bread (I recommend to use large, sturdy slices because this thing is loaded)
1 tbsp vegan butter
3oz wild-caught skipjack tuna
1/4 avocado, mashed
1 tbsp vegan cream cheese
Dill to taste, finely chopped
Green onion to taste, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 large pickle, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 cup vegan cheddar cheese shreds
2-3 thick tomato slices
Recipe
Lightly toast your sourdough bread in a toast. Just enough to make it warm so the butter spreads more easily and evenly.
Heavily coat one side of each piece of sourdough with vegan butter. Make sure it's the side of your bread that will be facing out with nothing on it.
For the tuna salad: empty 3oz of wild-caught skipjack tuna to a bowl and break it apart into smaller chunks with a fork. I used one small 3oz packet, but you could measure from a can if that's all you have.
To your tuna add 1/4 of a very ripe mashed avocado, and mix the tuna and avocado together well until they start forming a creamy, green substance.
Then add in 1 heaping tbsp of vegan cream cheese to your tuna mixture and mix until everything is fully combined.
From there you can add in your spices and extras to the tuna salad. I added in green onion, lots of fresh dill, some salt and pepper, the juice of 1/2 lemon, and 1/2 of a large pickle that I chopped into small pieces. Some other things I think would taste great are onion, grapes, celery, apples, or walnuts. Whatever you add just make sure your mix it in well to disperse the flavors and consistency evenly.
Once your tuna salad is finished you can get your sandwich ready to cook. Take your two slices of bread and place them on a cast iron skillet (or any oven safe dish), buttered side facing down and touching the skillet. To each slice of bread add enough cheddar cheese to cover it heavily - don't skimp the cheese. Then on top of the cheese add the tuna salad to each slice of bread. Then to one slice of bread add your tomato slices on top of the tuna salad.
Pop the sandwich in the oven and broil on high until the cheese melts and the bread starts to toast.
Once the sandwich is hot and ready, use a spatula to place one slice on top of the other. Let it cool if you have patience unlike me, cut in half, and enjoy!
obligatory close up