Tuna Melts, all grown up

Last year I started receiving Food & Wine magazine out of nowhere. Since I'm not one to question things, I immediately started flipping through and eyeing all the fancy recipes I would make once I had, a) a gourmet kitchen, b) no job, and c) a culinary degree. Then a few months ago I came across a tuna melt rendition that was positively refreshing: oil and balsamic vinegar in lieu of mayo? Why, yes! I love diner tuna melts, but I wanted to eschew the norm. To be all fancy-like. So this tuna melt is all grown up, and delicious to boot.

I used cheddar cheese, but I could see it with Gruyere. In fact, next time I'm making it with Gruyere. Another idea is to throw some capers into the tuna mixture, or perhaps some chopped roasted red peppers. Wow...this tuna melt is inspiring, indeed.

Oregon Tuna Melts

• Two 6-ounce cans albacore tuna
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon minced basil (Although a totally different flavor, I used Italian parsley and it was a perfect substitution.)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 ciabatta rolls, split
• Dijon mustard and mayonnaise, for spreading
• Eight 1/4-inch-thick slices of Swiss or cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
• Sixteen 1/8-inch-thick lengthwise slices of kosher dill pickle
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened
  

1. In a medium bowl, mix the tuna with the onion, olive oil, vinegar, basil(or parsley) and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper.
2. *Heat a panini press or griddle. Spread the cut sides of the rolls with mustard and mayonnaise and top each roll half with a slice of cheese. Spread the tuna salad on the bottoms and cover with the pickles. Close the sandwiches and spread the outsides of the rolls with the butter.
3. Add the sandwiches to the press and cook over moderate heat until the cheese is melted, about 6 minutes. Cut the sandwiches in half and serve.

*Note: Panini press, smanini press. Although it doesn't produce picture-perfect results, we used a skillet and flattened with a big ol' pot.

Delish. I started eating it out of the bowl. Would be great on top of a salad, as well.

Mid-prep. This would have been a great time to invest in those flat "sandwich" dill pickles, but since I'm sort of ghetto (or what I like to call industrious), I did my best with slicing up some spears.

Enjoy.