Ingrid Cohen
3/30/2021
Vegan Tuna Melt
Growing up there was a hole in the wall restaurant outside of Boston in Allston called Arthur’s. They served the best tuna sandwiches with a heaping pile of fresh from the fryer thick fries. Arthur’s started my obsession with canned tuna sandwiches. Arthur’s has been out of business for decades and I haven’t eaten fish for a decade, but the memories of a comfort food don’t die fast.
What Recipe I Chose and Why
I’ve made plenty of chickpea based “tuna” sandwiches but typically stay away from the vegan versions of canned tuna. When I saw that there were no vegan options offered for this week’s assignment, I picked the open faced sandwich so I could experiment with some processed vegan products while modifying the recipe to my dietary needs.
What Prevents College Students From Maintaining a Healthy Diet?
I haven’t lived in a dorm since I was an undergraduate which was over twenty years ago, so I don’t know the current challenges college students living in a dorm face. To really answer this question, I’d want to qualify the word “healthy” though. Given the specific needs of a student, a healthy diet can look like many different things. I was suffering from anorexia and alcoholism during my undergrad years, so a healthy diet for me would have looked far different from my roommate who was a healthy athlete and was physically active with strenuous work outs or games daily.
When I was a college student living in a dorm, I would have answered, that time, money, space, and access to cooking tools would be the barriers to eat a healthful diet.
Today, I would look at the question on a more broad level. The older I get, the more policy level I seem to look. To see the biggest barrier to maintaining a healthy diet would be the food offerings from the school. Looking at FSU’s menu, students are able to have their pick of grilled ham steaks, cheese burgers, and a chicken wrap that packs a whopping 980mg per serving. They even serve pizza with bacon on it. Forget the salt content, the bacon alone is a known carcinogenic. I get it, it happens at hospitals too, the food needs to appeal to the customer. Folks want burgers, fries, and pizza.
And, I also know that FSU does a great job at offering "healthier" alternatives. In terms of vegan offerings, the kitchen won an award of recognition from PETA.
How This Recipe Addresses Barriers to Maintaining a Healthy Diet
I’d have to agree that a tuna sandwich, or this modified version, is healthy to answer this question. But, if it were, it helps students maintain a healthy diet because:
Time: It takes less than 10 minutes to make.
Money: I’m sure if I didn’t make this vegan it would have been more affordable.
Space: The refrigerated ingredients don’t take up that much room and all ingredients have a decent shelf life. Prep is minimal and only requires a small plate sized area to cut ¾ of a stalk of celery.
Access to Tools: The only cooking appliance needed is a toaster oven. You really don't even need measuring cups or spoons.
How It Went
The recipe was basic so it is very simple to make. It turned out very much how I expected it to be. The appearance was very basic, it looked like something that was made in a toaster oven. There were no smells from the dish. The flavors from the cheese and fish were salty and oily, but not overpowering, which was a nice contrast to the muted rustic flavors from the white bread. The textures were also a nice contrast, the tuna and cheese were soft and rich against the hard crunch of the toast. The surprise of the pop of crunch from the celery kept the bite exciting. The overall rating of this recipe was a 4/5.
Given the constraints of a dorm room assignment, there were few things that could have been done to improve this recipe. Ideally, it would have been nicer had there been more substance to it, perhaps some lettuce and tomato but both would add to the cost and harder to store in terms of space and/or shelf life. In the very least, I’d add ¼ teaspoon of black pepper to slightly elevate the flavor profile with some seasoning.
The advice to others who would want to make this is to be ready to eat as it wouldn’t store well.
Pictured here is the celery, mayo, tuna, and cheese.
All products are vegan alternatives to the ones listed in the original recipe and I used equal measurements for substitutions.
I chopped 1/4 cup of the celery. No measuring cup? No problem! Cut up about 3/4 of a stalk. You'll have plenty left over for some late night snacking!
Next, I mixed the celery and mayo with the tuna. Don't worry about exact measurements!
Toast the bread. Once cool, spread the tuna mixture on toast. Place cheese atop the assembled sandwich. Pop into broiler.
Sandwich is ready in about 3 minutes, or when cheese starts to brown and bubble.
Sliced and ready to enjoy!
Recipe
Tuna Melts
Serves 2 people (2 open faced sandwiches each)
Ingredients
1 can (about 5 ounces) tuna in water, drained
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 slices Cheddar cheese or any sliced cheese of your choice (about 4 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped celery 4 slices White Bread
Preparation
1. Adjust the cooking rack in the middle and place bread directly on the rack. Set the toaster to toasting mode, set the temperature to 400°F, toast for 90 seconds or until the bread is golden brown. (Or select medium darkness level). Take the bread out and place it on a rack to cool.
2. Stir the tuna, celery and mayonnaise in a medium bowl.
3. Divide the tuna mixture evenly among the toast and spread to the edges. Top the tuna mixture with the cheese.
4. Set the toaster oven to broiler mode. Place the toast on a toaster oven pan. Broil until the cheese is melted. About 3 minutes.
Eat when ready, will not store well.
Modified from https://www.campbells.com/kitchen/recipes/tuna-melts/