Tuna sandwich, hold the mayo

I was lunching at a diner with my friend Ricardo, a true carnivore, when it came down to the menu choice.

Q: Ricardo, what are you having? Have you seen the roast beef dip sandwich?

He hadn’t, and it was cause for pause. He asks me what I’m thinking about.

A: Maybe a tuna melt. (I LOVE a good tuna melt).

Ricardo: I don’t eat tuna.

Me: Why?

Ricardo: Cat food.

I decide to order the beef dip and Ricardo orders the Philly cheesesteak sandwich (more on both in future blog posts).

But I don’t think of tuna as cat food, if it’s done right. So I return home thinking I want a good, simple tuna sandwich evocative of Mediterranian flavours—hold the mayo. Sacrilege? Perhaps, but stay with me.

My fresh tuna salad starts with two cans of sustainably caught tuna (important!). I choose water-packed, not oil-packed, and I know this is controversial among foodies but I want to add my own oil. I drain the tuna and dowse it with the juice of one Myer lemon. I suppose a regular lemon or lime would do, but if you can find it at your grocery store, there is no substitute for the mild Myer lemon. Chopped chives and parsley go into the bowl.

I chop up a handful of green and kalamata olives, half of a large shallot (minced), and a generous tbsp of capers packed in salt.

You need to rinse those capers in a colander under hot water to melt the salt, but once you try this version instead of brined capers, I think you might never go back.

All of these flavours will build and make you totally forget about mayo. Or maybe that’s just me.

Now to dress the tuna mix. I’m replacing the typical mayo dressing with a lemon (juice of 1), olive oil (1/3 cup), and mustard dressing (2 tbsps)—I like a bold dressing.

It’s fresh and bold and it’s the perfect pairing for a dark rye bread, smeared with a hint of dijon mustard. I take a metal ring and cut my bread into a circle, because.

Then I take an ice cream scoop and release the tuna mixture onto my rye circle.

At this point you could easily eat it as an open faced sandwich but I take the lid and push down on it to make a more manageable meal out of it and I’m happy.

Trish Hennessy