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Tuna Melt with Provolone Cheese and Lemon Aioli

Years ago, I worked at a small market in Massachusetts serving to-go sandwiches
and prepared foods. One of the items served there was a tuna melt, with a bit of red
onion, tomato, and a lemon aioli—it was really good! We would heat it up using a
TurboChef oven, which worked great in a restaurant setting.
The recipe below makes one tuna melt, served as two open-faced English Muffins.

Ingredients

  • 1 can of tuna (drained and flaked into a bowl)
  • 1 stalk of celery (cut small dice)
  • 1 scallion (white section finely sliced)
  • 1 Tbsp finely-sliced chives (about 6 fresh chives)
  • ¼ tsp celery seed
  • 2 Tbsp prepared mayonnaise
  • 1 Tbsp sour cream
  • Zest of ½ lemon
  • Juice of ½ lemon
  • ½ tsp honey
  • Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper (to taste)
  • 1 English muffin (split and lightly toasted)
  • 1 Tbsp butter (softened)
  • 2 thin slices of ripe tomato
  • 2 slices provolone cheese
  • A few slices of pickled red onions

Instructions 

  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the drained tuna fish with the diced celery, finely-sliced scallion, and fresh chives.
  • Stir in the celery seed, prepared mayonnaise, sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice, and honey.
  • Taste, and add a small sprinkle of Kosher salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
  • Serve the tuna salad on top of the buttered and griddled or toasted English muffin halves, with each English muffin half served as an open-faced sandwich.
  • Top each English muffin half with a thin slice of ripe tomato, and a slice of provolone cheese.
  • Use a blowtorch or broiler to melt the cheese on top, and serve immediately.
  • You could serve this with a tiny slice or two of pickled red onion on top…

Notes

This is best eaten right away, while the cheese is hot and melted. You can prepare the tuna fish mixture in advance and store it in the fridge. To make pickled red onions, slice half of a red onion and mix the slices with the juice of one lime, and let it sit in a bowl for an hour. You can use a slice or two of
that pickled red onion on top of this tuna melt to brighten things up and add some extra crunch, if you want!