Nothing fancy here! On the other hand, I recently assembled a green rice bowl with about sixteen elements. When I’ve been away from the kitchen for a while. I often want to get all the dishes and cutting boards dirty. This has been a spring season of travel, but when I’ve been home in the interludes my desire to cook has swelled so immensely, the kitchen time I’ve put in might even out with a regular month.
That impulse eases, sometimes after an accompanying closet reorganization, and I get back to simple food, food that bucks all the weird trends, food kids might like, the best food. So all I did for these tuna melts, pretty much, was remember that they existed, and I recommend jogging your memory. When was the last time you let cheddar melt over mayo-laced tuna and a crisp English muffin?
I spruced up the tuna salad part for spring with minced chives and some parsley, but otherwise I left the open-faced sandwich to its genius simplicity. The textures are right, the flavors are good, and can I put in a word for warmed-up tuna? So good.
**Recipe**
Herbed Tuna Melts
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 small shallot, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1 tablespoon minced celery
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 tablespoon minced parsley
1 can good-quality tuna (I like American Tuna)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Juice of about half a lemon
Salt and pepper
2 English muffins, split
2 tablespoons softened butter
2 ounces sharp cheddar, in thin slices
Preheat the broiler. If you have a toaster oven, feel free to use that. In a small bowl, combine the shallot, celery, almost all the chives (reserve a few for garnish), parsley, tuna, mayo, a squeeze of lemon, and some salt and pepper.
Lightly toast the English muffins under the broiler. Spread each half with some of the butter. Divide the tuna among the four halves, and top with the cheese. Return to the broiler and cook just until the cheese melts, 3 to 5 minutes, watching carefully so as not to burn the cheese or English muffins.
Top with the reserved chives and serve immediately.
