There’s tuna in my closet!

Years ago l discovered a mom-and-pop fishing business in Oregon. They don’t use nets, so the dolphins swim along next to their boat, and their tuna and/or salmon is only cooked once during the canning process (most commercial fish is cooked twice). With their product, you get pure, clean fish—no additives. But you must order by the case. No individual sales. Yep, I have a case of tuna in my closet. You can only eat tuna salad so often, so I find other ways to serve it. With summer and sandwich time coming, here are a couple of suggestions. Please don’t be afraid of the anchovies!

(The cannery always has a supply of tuna; the supply of salmon is spotty, but when you can get it, it puts all other canned salmon in the shade. Alternative: Wild Planet or other canned product that specifies “wild caught.”)

Tuna melt

For too long I resisted tuna melts when everyone else was crazy about them. But finally I experimented, adapting Ina Garten’s tuna salad to my own taste. Another of my food biases was that I didn’t much like Swiss cheese; I wanted cheddar on everything. My goodness, have I learned. Here’s how I make a tuna melt:

2 slices rye bread

Sliced Swiss cheese as needed

Tuna filling:

1 7 oz. can tuna, water-packed

A drizzle of olive oil

1/2 c. minced celery (please remember to string the celery first—something I recently realized I never taught my children

1/2 c. green onions, sliced thin

2 Tbsp. Lemon juice or to taste

Salt and pepper

1 tsp. anchovy paste (you can omit, but it won’t be as good)

Mayonnaise to bind

Drain tuna. Flake it in small bowl and drizzle with olive oil (you can use oil-packed tuna, but my closet tuna is all water-packed). Add celery, onion, salt and pepper. Separately mix about a half cup of mayonnaise with lemon juice and anchovy paste. Dress the salad, mixing thoroughly, and taste for seasoning; if too dry, add a bit more mayo cautiously—you do not want tuna soup.

Toast the bread; top it with generous helping of tuna, and cover with cheese. Make sure filling and cheese extend all the way over the edge of the toast; otherwise you’ll get charred bits of bread which detract from appearance and taste. Broil (I suggest medium setting) until cheese is bubbly and melted. Watch carefully to avoid burning.

Sprinkle with chopped parsley or minced tops from a green onion and serve immediately. You’ll need a knife and fork.

Makes two sandwiches.

Pan bagnat

Pan bagnat is a French sandwich of lightly dressed vegetables, hard-boiled egg, tuna, and anchovy served on a roll, baguette, or other artisan bread. Despite the French origins, I like to make it on a ciabatta roll (Italy’s answer to the French baguette). While some recipes call for a larger round loaf (with the top sliced as you would do if you were using the bread to serve soup or a dip), I prefer to use ciabatta rolls (Italian) and make individual sandwiches. Note: you must prepare this at least four hours before serving. Overnight is okay.

Two ciabatta rolls, split

6-7 oz. canned tuna (ether oil-packed or drizzled with oil after flaking)

1 hard-boiled egg, sliced thin

¼ seedless cucumber, sliced thin

½ small red onion, sliced thin

1 Roma tomato, sliced thin

3 anchovy fillets, or 2 tsp. anchovy paste – divided use

¼ c. sliced, black olives (optional because I do not eat olives)

For the dressing

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. olive oil plus 1 tsp.

Salt and pepper

Split the roll and scoop out a bit of the center bread, so that it is hollow and ready for the filling. In small bowl, mix 1 tsp. olive oil and one anchovy fillet. Using a pastry brush, brush that mixture all over the inside of the roll. In the same bowl, mix garlic, vinegar, Dijon, remaining two anchovy fillets and 2 Tbsp. olive oil; if any of first mixture remains, just incorporate it.

Layer vegetables and tuna on the bottom piece of bread, usually in this order: cucumber, tomato, onion, tuna, olives, egg slices. Drizzle vinaigrette over all—you don’t want a soggy sandwich, so you may not want to use all the dressing; just save it for another use. Put top on sandwich and press hard.

Wrap the sandwich in foil and put it in a plastic bag. Weigh the sandwich down for about ten minutes—a large heavy can of vegetables will work or a saucepan of water. Theoretically you could stand there and press on it for ten minutes, but that would get tiresome.

Refrigerate at least four hours before serving. Makes two sandwiches.