Mahi mahi melts

When we were in Haliburton, the President's Choice mahi mahi was on sale, so we picked up a couple of them, knowing how much we like to eat fish. Although Fish Tacos were of course on the menu, i had been intending to make tuna melts at some point, i thought perhaps i would make it with mahi mahi instead.

This was also on the last day so we wanted to use up as many of the ingredients as we could. Eric made a greek salad as an accompaniment.

I bbq-ed the fish, and added many of the topping i would normally for a tuna melt; onions, jalapenos, green apples. I also put tomato and avocado on the sandwiches.

Once i had the mix done i added them to whole wheat baguettes and topped them with extra old cheddar. I will admit they were not as good as tuna melts - the fish was too mild, but i am not done with the challenge of fish sandwiches.

Toasty.

Cottage Samis and Tuna Melts

I had a couple of extra pics from smaller meals i made over the last weekend. When you're hard at work a nice quick sami with some salad can be perfect. (with a beer of course) Here are a few of the snacks i made last time.

A selection of samis (poached samon, ham and swiss, tomato and arugula)

Quick store bought salads

Tuna melts with Old Dutch chips

Making the veggie samis

Tuna melts - little bundles of joy

A lot of people have a very negative opinion about the tuna melt, this mainly stems from having really poorly made ones with too much mayo, little spice, hot dog buns for bread and plastic cheese. Some people on the other hand believe that cheese and fish do not go together - i would first of all like to challenge these people to a thumb war, then victorious i would make them my version of the tuna melt and accept their humble apologies.

When tuna melts are made well they are a great light lunch to make for a cottage crowd. People can simply help themselves to however many they want and even snack on them when they are cold. I like to use a good bread - this is essential to the tuna melt - i think that english muffins are great, and not too bready, but i also like Ace rosemary focatia triangles or their baguettes. Toast them a bit before you put the tuna and cheese on and back in the oven, this keeps them from getting soggy. (but not too much to make them break)

I tend to varry the main veggies/condiments, but i think that adding a lot of them takes away from the overwealming tuna and mayo content that some people don't enjoy. I always start with a base of low sodium high quality water packed tuna. My usual additions are:

Green onion or red onion
Granny smith apples (trust me on this one - diced, so crisp)
Diced carrots
Olives or sundried tomatoes (both make it too salty)
Pepper, hot sauce

The dressing varries on the moisture of the ingredients, but it is usally a mixture of mayo, dijon mustard and a little olive oil if necessary. Also i add a little of the cheese into the mix, which i think is a great addition.

Top the toasted bread with the tuna topping, add a slice of swiss and toast until golden and melted. The swiss doesn't tend to make a mess, and also keeps the tuna in place.

Above:

Tuna mixture
Ready for the oven
Tuna melts
A nice light meal (salad with humus and carrots)