Not Your Average Tuna Melt

The tuna melt sandwich deserves to be up there with the all-time greats. So many other sandwiches are made with , time, care, and quality ingredients; what if we did that with the humble tuna melt? This sandwich is answer to that question and it’s a force to be reckoned with. This sandwich can definitely be made with store-bought mayonnaise and canned tuna and will still be amazing, but if done this way, it’s just on another planet.

Recipe

Serves 2-3

Kombu-Cured Confit Tuna Filet

• 1.5 lb tuna filet
• 2 c olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 lemon peel strips
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 3 dried chilies
• Salt to taste
• 2 6′ kombu sheets

1. Lightly season both sides of tuna filet with salt. Cover with kombu sheets– one on top and the other on the bottom. Wrap with parchment paper/plastic wrap. Set in the fridge at least 1 hour, preferably for a few hours or overnight. Take out of fridge 30 mins before cooking.
2. In a small pot, add oil, garlic, lemon strips, chilies, and peppercorns. Heat over medium-low heat to 160ºF.
3. Discard kombu from tuna filet. Place in oil, let cook for 12 minutes, flipping halfway. Pull out and set aside. Strain oil and save, reserve garlic and lemon peels.

Dijonnaise

• 2 c oil (reserved from before)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 heaping tbsp miso paste
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 heaping tbsp dijon mustard
• 2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• Garlic & lemon peels (reserved from before)

1. Chop/smash garlic and lemon peels into a fine, homogeneous paste. Add to a mixing bowl along with egg yolks, lemon, miso, dijon.
2. Whisk to form a paste. Start adding oil as slowly as possible, while whisking. Once an emulsion is formed, you can pour the oil faster as you go.
3. Season with black pepper.

Tuna Salad

• Confit tuna
• Dijonnaise
• 1 stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1/2 c kimchi, finely diced
• 1 dill pickle spear, finely diced

1. In a mixing bowl, add tuna, and diced celery, shallot, kimchi, dill pickle. Add desired amounts of the dijonnaise, stir to combine.

Assembly

• Two slices of bread of choice
• Monterey Jack cheese (or choice of choice
• Tomato slices
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• 1/2 c kimchi, finely diced
• 1 dill pickle spear, finely diced

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. To both pieces of bread, add desired amount of cheese, followed by a layer of tuna. On one side, add tomato slices. Close, throw into the oven for 10-12 minutes.