H and I share a love for tuna, don’t we, H? We also share a love for salmon (and that’s not to mention chocolate, cheese, knitting, sewing, decorating, sundresses… the list goes on). Consider it mutual-love-item-#76. When the boyfriend and I were on our cruise recently, I went a bit crazy with the tuna salad sandwiches (so good!)- thus imagine my delighted surprise when H suggested we make these delicious Oregon Tuna Melts for this week’s cooking date! How on Earth could I refuse so brilliant a suggestion?

These were monstrous. I mean, if I were a big, strong man who liked large, meaty wiches, then this would have been the one. I was barely able to finish half of this thing. It’s INTENSE. H will probably have me note that she was able to eat hers but she has magical sandwich-eating powers so that’s neither here nor there. The point is, if you have a hungry boyfriend to feed- as is often the case, it seems- this one’s a winner. And it involves fresh, delicious ciabatta. What’s not to enjoy?

What’s really original about this recipe is that there’s mayonnaise spread on the sandwich, but not in the tuna salad- rather, olive oil and balsamic vinegar (two of my favourite things in life) flavour it instead. Original, delicious, and more healthy. Case closed. Make this sandwich.

Oregon Tuna Melts

Adapted from Oregon Tuna Melts from Food & Wine Magazine’s  Simple Acts of Sandwich Genius (Tommy Habetz)

Ingredients (makes 2 large sandwiches):

• 2 6-oz cans albacore tuna (chunk light, in water)
• 1/4 cup finely-diced red onion
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar from modena (don’t get me started on vinegars)
• 1 heaping teaspoon dried basil (recipe called for fresh, we went for dried for a less sharp taste)
• 2 ciabatta rolls, split in half
• Dijon mustard and mayonnaise for spreading
• 4 1/4-inch-thick organic Emmantaler cheese slices (so good!)
• sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Process:

1. Heat grill pan/panini press on medium heat.
2. Drain tuna, then mix in small bowl with onion, olive oil, vinegar, dried basil, salt, and pepper.
3. Spread mustard on one half of the ciabatta rolls and mayo on the other. Layer two slices of cheese over the mustard half on each roll. Spread the tuna salad on top of the cheese evenly. Place the mayo’d ciabatta slice over the tuna to close the sandwiches.
4. The recipe suggests you brush some melted butter onto the tops of the sandwiches; I prefer to have a little organic canola oil heating on the grill instead. It’s healthier! Place the sandwiches (ours were so large, we had to go one at a time… my grill pan is not too gargantuan) on the grill and cover with the panini press. Grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, until you have some nice grill marks going.
5. Cut in half and serve warm with a cool, refreshing drink! I suggest some home-made lemonade.

Mine was not quite as warm as I dilligently shot pictures prior to eating, but it was quite nice… and I’m not a fan of melting cheese, so I liked it better with the cheese being a bit cool. These are terrific for that day when you need a hearty sandwich that feels decadent but really isn’t too bad! I’m sure you could try many a variant of it as well.