Working from home means I need to continuously be creative in the kitchen with the foods I make for lunch. We have options near us, but it’s nice to eat food at home and it saves me money throughout the week. To stop myself from getting the itch to drive over to a fast casual, stuff at home needs to taste really good, and of course, satisfy my pregnancy cravings.
I’m constantly in search of new and different sandwiches for lunch, but a classic for me will always be a tuna sandwich. I believe I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but I’m not much of a lunch meat fan, so tuna is my go-to sammie.
I’ve recently been very daring with my tuna sammies – throwing different ingredients to the mix, toasting the bread and experimenting with a variety of cheeses. But, one thing I’ll never stop putting in my tuna is giardiniera. I have Potbelly to thank for that. I love spicy food so much, and spicy tuna is absolutely fantastic.
Last night, I really went crazy by making a Mediterranean-style tuna with creamy feta cheese and herbs, artichoke paste and giardiniera relish. Talk about intense flavor! My taste buds were super happy biting into the buttered crunchy bread. Now, for those of you who don’t like tuna, I challenge you to try this recipe because I think it might just be the sandwich that changes your perspective. Another plus, it has no mayo in it. Greek yogurt for the win! I guess I can’t give all the credit to the yogurt, the artichoke paste adds a creamy texture that is a thousand times better than mayo.
If you end up making this tuna melt, don’t forget to tag your photos with #marinamakeseats!
Mediterranean Tuna Melt
Serves 2
Ingredients
- Tablespoon of butter, divided
- 4 slices of whole wheat bread
- 5 oz can of albacore tuna
- 1 tablespoon of mild giardiniera (or hot if you like extra spice)
- 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt
- 2 heaping teaspoons of artichoke paste (artichoke bruschetta will do too, but I prefer paste)
- Salt
- 1/2 cup of fresh crumbled feta
- 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 teaspoon of fresh oregano, chopped
- 1 teaspoon of fresh parsley, chopped
- Chopped Lettuce
- Thinly sliced tomato
Directions
In a medium bowl, break up the tuna with a fork and mix it with giardiniera, yogurt, artichoke paste and a pinch or two of salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine crumbled feta, olive oil, fresh oregano and parsley. Mix until combined and set aside.
In a large skillet, heat half of the tablespoon of butter over medium heat. When melted, place two slices of bread on the skillet. Place tuna on one side and crumbled feta on the other. Lower the heat slightly and cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until the feta is softened and the bottom sides of the bread are golden brown.
Remove from the heat and top with chopped lettuce and thinly sliced tomatoes. Repeat with the remaining bread and ingredients to make another sandwich.
Marina Makes 