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Open-faced pickle tuna melts
Tuna, chopped pickles and celery on toasted bread, covered with cheddar and grilled until bubbling. Four open-faced pieces make lunch for two.
In this guide4 sections
Toast the base before adding the tuna
An open-faced tuna melt lets you see when the cheese is bubbling and keeps a generous filling manageable. The important preparation is draining: squeeze excess liquid from the tuna, dry the pickles and toast the bread before it meets the mayonnaise.
A standard oven grill or broiler is enough. Use a metal tray and keep watching once the cheese goes under the heat. This recipe makes four modest open sandwiches; count two per person for lunch rather than trying to balance all the filling on one enormous slice.
Yield: 2 servings. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cook time: 8 minutes.
Ingredients
- 200 g canned tuna, drained weight
- 60 g drained dill pickles, finely chopped
- 40 g celery, finely diced
- 40 g mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped chives
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 slices sturdy bread, about 160 g total
- 80 g mature cheddar, grated
Method
- Heat the oven grill or broiler to medium-high. Set a rack about 15 cm below the element. Drain the tuna thoroughly and blot the chopped pickles dry.
- Mix the tuna, pickles, celery, mayonnaise, mustard, chives and pepper in a bowl. Break up large tuna chunks, but leave some flakes. The mixture should hold a mound on a spoon.
Keep some tuna flakes intact as you mix the filling. - Put the bread on a metal tray and toast under the grill for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, checking frequently. Remove the tray with oven gloves.
Toast both sides of the bread before adding the tuna. - Divide the tuna mixture evenly between the four pieces of toast, spreading to the edges. Scatter the cheddar over the filling in a thin, even layer.
Spread the tuna to the edges and add a thin layer of cheddar. - Return to the grill for about 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese melts and develops golden spots and the filling is hot. Move the tray lower if the top colours too fast. Serve straight away with a knife and fork if needed.
Keep the filling in proportion
Too much mayonnaise makes the filling slippery. The specified amount binds drained tuna; if your tuna is packed in oil, drain it especially well before deciding whether it needs any adjustment. Sweet relish can overwhelm this small sandwich, so choose a pickle you enjoy eating on its own.
Use a metal baking tray under a grill. Glass dishes and ordinary baking paper are poor substitutes near direct overhead heat. Keep the tray handle accessible and check the toast while it cooks; the difference between golden and burnt can be a short distraction.
For a sandwich without fish, try pickle grilled cheese. The chickpea pickle wrap skips the grill entirely.
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