Tuna Melts

I have to remind myself that dinner doesn't always need to be fancy. I often make dinner too complicated; hard-to-find spices, interesting new recipes, finely chopped everything. Sometimes it's good to keep it simple with this classic standby: tuna melts! 

I have three tips:
- Adding pickle juice lets you use less mayo because it keeps the tuna salad moist. This works for egg salad too.
- DON'T bake these sandwiches. If you bake them, the tuna will dry up before the cheese has time to melt. 
- Cut fresh herbs with a scissors to retain more of their flavor and essential oils (plus it's way easier).

You'll need:
3 Tb mayonaise
2 Tb pickle juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 stalks celery (chopped fine)
2 Tb pickle chopped fine (about 1 spear)
3 cans of tuna (chunk light in water)
1 Tb minced scallions or shallot
1 Tb fresh dill
8 slices of bread
8 slices of cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc)

Instructions:
1. Finely chop the celery, pickle, and shallot. Preheat the broiler. In a medium sized bowl, combine 3 Tb mayo, 2 Tb pickle juice, 1 tsp Dijon, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Stir together until smooth; sort of like a salad dressing. 

2. Open tuna cans and drain excess water. It's ok to leave some water in the tuna (that keeps it tender). Fold in the tuna, chopped celery, chopped pickle, minced shallot, and dill. Stir until well combined. 

3. Toast each slice of bread in the toaster; then arrange them in a single layer on a sheet pan. Put a scoop of tuna salad onto each slice of bread and top with cheese. 

4. Broil for 2-4 minutes; just so that cheese is melted. Serve immediately. 

Serves: 4 people
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 2-4 minutes