Cooking for One: Pepperoncini Tuna Melts

I’ve had the weirdest craving for tuna melts the past few weeks. I used to loathe tuna because it reminded me of the Wednesday night tuna sandwiches we had as we rushed to church. The the tuna itself wasn’t bad, but we never variated from the basics. Oh and I had no idea you could have tuna in any form than cold.

This winter I’ve been gravitating towards easy, not-so-heavy comfort food. Tuna crossed my mind and I wanted to figure out how to create tuna melts that feel more grown up. Enter grown up tuna melts. Pepperoncini tuna melts. The perfect tuna grown up melt sandwich.

If you don’t love tuna, a) what are you doing here? b) you probably haven’t been seasoning it. I know I didn’t. Salt. It. Up. Pepper. It. Up. Add garlic! Add dill! Parsley! Basil! Rosemary! All of it. You won’t regret it.

I love pepperoncini so, so, so much. My first experience with them were these chips and then my world was opened. I put them on so much, from pizza to subs. And now, pepperoncini tuna melts. It’s like the crunch and tang you want but they add just a little spice. It all comes together in this sandwich between the pepperoncini, peppery arugula, slightly smokey gouda and of course, tuna. It just works. And you can add anything you want to this! That’s what is so great about tuna salad, you can put pretty much anything on it! (I have put cherries in tuna salad, somehow it worked but I would say that was a reallll risk.)

You can make this sandwich be piled high and serve one or you can make two servings and save one for later. (Just reheat in a cast iron skillet. I will NEVER not be talking about the wonders of cast iron and how it makes leftovers feel like a new meal.) If you like eating the same thing in a day, I’d make one for lunch and save the rest for dinner! Just maybe swap out the sides to make it feel more lunch or dinner to you.

Pepperoncini Tuna Melts

These easy sandwiches are perfect for one or two people! This is not your mom's tuna melt recipe and has a tiny kick and mix of savory, smokey and peppery.

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Ingredients

  

• 1 Can Chunk Tuna in Water
• 1/2 Cup Mayo
• 1 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
• 1 tbsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tbsp Basil
• 1/2 tbsp Oregano/Dill/Parsley (your choice)
• 1 Stalk Celery, chopped
• 5-6 Pepperoncini, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Arugula mix to taste
• Sliced cheese (preferably 2 per sandwich)

Instructions

 

• Chop celery and pepperoncini and place in mixing bowl.
• Drain tuna and play in bowl with celery, pepperoncini, mayo, vinegar, seasoning and salt and pepper to taste.
• Take two slices of bread, place cheese and arugula on one side, spread tuna mixture on other slice of bread. Put together and slightly press together.
• Melt butter in skillet and place sandwiches side by side, careful to allow room for flipping. Cook for 5 minutes each side or until golden brown to your liking.

I called this post cooking for one because it’s such a hot topic that there’s no point in cooking for just one. There is absolutely every reason in the world, YOU! I understand that not every single night you may want to pull out all the stops. I’d say that half the week I am making actual hot meals (often leftovers for lunch) and the other half is a mix of cold food/Chipotle, etc. Some nights I want mini-charcuterie and other nights I want to a big bowl of chili. It’s a balance but please, please know you are worthy of hot, good, nourishing food.