How to Make a Tuna Melt

My mother made a cheese and tuna melt sandwich—nothing fancy but better than either tuna or cheese alone.  Those sandwiches inspired these recipes.

This recipe calls for tuna but works with any fish, even canned or cooked salmon.  You can choose your favorite cheese.

But you can also consider variations like these:

• Most of the time I just slap a deli slice of cheese on top of the tuna. Both Merri Ann and my mother often grated the cheese and then mixed the cheese into the tuna salad or piled grated cheese on top of the tuna, like in the sandwich right above.  
• I love tomato on my sandwiches.  Tomato goes very well on top of the tuna and with the melted cheese.  Pull the hot sandwich apart to insert the tomato. See the billboard image above.
• And of course, the tuna salad can handle extras: chopped onions, watercress, chopped green peppers, celery, relish and/or pickles. 
• I often use ranch dressing with the mayo. Don't forget the pepper and salt. It makes a difference.

See also how to make spectacular grilled cheese sandwiches.

Ingredients

1 tin of tuna, well drained and crumbled
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoon sweet relish
2 green onions, chopped (optional)
1 stalk celery, finely chopped (optional)
fresh ground black pepper to taste
salt to taste
1 slice cheese, mozzarella or other, for each sandwich
bread
butter

Directions

1. Mix the tuna, mayonnaise, lemon juice, chopped onion, and celery together with a fork.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Spread on bread slices.  Add a slice of cheese. Top with additional slices of bread.
2. Spread butter on both sides of the sandwich and grill in a moderately hot skillet, turning once, until the bread is fried to a golden brown and the cheese is melted. I usually put a lid over the top of the frying pan or over sandwich on the griddle to get the cheese melting sooner.