Tuna Melt Recipe – Quick and Yummy

Tuna melt has always been something that I liked to order in a restaurant or sandwich place but never made at home. I guess the reason is that I never really knew what goes in a tuna melt or how to make it. The yummy and messy tuna melts always seemed like a mysterious concoction of some very obvious ingredients – tuna, toast, melted cheese – and ‘something’ else that gives it flavor and ‘somehow’ makes it gel.

Turns out that preparing tuna melt at home is quick, difficult to mess up and requires only ingredients that are easy to stock.

tuna melt ingredientsThe ingredients are:

  • one can of tuna (get good quality, canned in olive oil – not vegetable oil or water)
  • finely chopped shallots and garlic (raw – which will make for a nice bite)
  • juice of half a lime
  • mayonnaise
  • salt, pepper and Japanese hot pepper (guess it does not have to be Japanese, but the spicy mix you get at Japanese stores is great)
  • bread that can be toasted
  • cheese that can be melted (cheddar, emmentaler or similar)

tuna salad - mixingYou first need to make tuna salad: Mix all ingredients in a bowl – the tuna (without the olive oil unless you like your tuna melt very oily), about two spoons of mayonnaise, shallots, garlic, lime juice and the spices. You are looking for enough mayonnaise to later be able to easily spread the tuna salad. You can add vegetables like red bell pepper or scallions.

tuna melt - putting it all togetherThen you prepare the tuna melts: First pre-toast the bread for about half its regular toasting time (about 2-3 minutes, depending on the type of bread). Next, spread the tuna salad thickly (a thumb) on the bread. Slice the cheese (comte also works well) not too thinly and lay on top of the tuna salad. Put the melts in the toaster oven for the remaining time (about 3-4 minutes, depending on type of bread again and how bubbly you like your cheese).

tuna melt - in ovenAnd that’s it. Take the tuna melts out of the toaster oven when it beeps and serve hot and yummy. It’s great comfort and hangover food. And the different flavors and textures mix really well – the soft tuna with the pungent and crunchy shallots, the oily mayonnaise with the sour lime juice and the warm, melted cheese with the crunchy toast!

Feduzzi and Tromp Semi-Finalists in KDWN Food Store Competition

kdwn best food logoItalian traiteur Feduzzi on Scheldestraat and cheese specialty store Tromp on Beethovenstraat are two of my favorite food stores in Amsterdam. Both have high-quality products, a large selection and excellent service. These guys basically love their food.

Now they are getting recognition: Both Feduzzi and Tromp are semi-finalists in the KDWN food store competition. Feduzzi in the “food specialty store” category and Tromp for the title of best “cheese specialty store”.

kdwn best cheese logoThe KDWN – Stichting Kaas- en Delicatessenwinkels Nederland or Foundation Cheese- and Delicatessenstores The Netherlands – is an industry organization that represents food entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. They organize the yearly competition for best stores as well as the specialty food trade fair “Vakbeurs Foodspecialiteiten”.

Prize or not – Feduzzi and Tromp are worth a trip!

Torus Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh

Last night we had a great bottle of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh for the second time! Pacherenc is a dry, white wine with a very characteristic herby flavor, not unlike Viognier.

label chateau viella pacherencWe had Pacherenc for the first time at De Witte Uyl a few months ago. That night we had decided to order a bottle of Viognier which they had run out of. As always, sommelier Annemieke came up with an alternative suggestion that was spot on – a bottle of Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh. It was a 2006 Château de Viella and we loved it.

Pacherenc is not very popular yet in Amsterdam so we had pretty much forgotten about it – until last night when we were looking for a good and somewhat different white wine to bring along to a dinner party. At – of all places – Gall & Gall that was pretty much the only place left open…

label torus pacherencThe Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh we got last night was a 2006 Torus, made by Alain Brumont. Everybody loved it! It’s a light white wine with surprising depth and flavor. The nose is pleasant and subtle. The first taste is light and fruity which later develops into a surprisingly spicy and floral aroma.

Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh is an AOC region in the Madiran, in the very south-west of France, below the Armagnac. The Manseng grape gives the Pacherenc wines their characteristic, spicy flavors. Like Viognier, Manseng is quickly becoming popular again, its revival being led by Californian and Australian winemakers.

Rediscovering an old favorite and – as he states himself – “thumbing a nose at New World wine” Alain Brumont and other south-west winemakers will surely produce some great Manseng and Viognier wines in the near future.

Restaurant Week Amsterdam 2008 – Tante Agaath and Heerlijk

Last week was the summer edition of Restaurant Week in Amsterdam. During restaurant week you can sample a three course dinner for EUR 25,= at any of the more than 500 participating restaurants. If you are quick enough, that is, as their server traditionally grinds to a halt due to the enormous traffic by people trying to reserve a table.

I subscribe to Dining City Amsterdam, which means an opportunity to reserve a table for restaurant week a few days in advance. The idea behind restaurant week is to try new restaurants and we managed to score tables at Tante Agaath and Heerlijk – both in the Jordaan and both new to us.

Both Tante Agaath and Heerlijk are examples of how restaurants should *not* do restaurant week. Menus were boring with a limited number of rather simple choices. I guess it’s partially understandable as restaurants need to deal with larger than usual number of guests and a limited budget. But to me the idea was to attract new guests in the future by luring them in for the first time during restaurant week. And then having them return because they liked it.

tante agaath outsideTante Agaath was clearly the better of the two. Service was prompt and friendly – much unlike what was said in some reviews that criticized the service of Agaath. The starters we ordered were a trio of fish with salmon, shrimp and scallops; and paté. The scallops were the best part. The paté was ok although unfortunately off-the-shelf stuff. My main course was an entrecôte that was significantly past the medium-rare I had ordered. It’s actually amazing how few restaurants get this right. The profiteroles for dessert were good.

The wine list at Tante Agaath was short but decent. We went with a fresh Viognier that was quickly finished. Tap water was served chilled and without having to ask for it.

restaurant heerlijk outsideHeerlijk was downright disappointing. We had made our reservation for 20:00, showed up on time, were seated promptly and still did not have starters before 21:30 – an hour and a half later. The menu was terribly boring – we settled for shrimp cocktail and salad with smoked duck for starters; dorado and lamb fillets – served with the same potatoes and veggies – where the third option was also rather standard lemon chicken; and cheesecake for dessert.

While scoring low on imagination, Heerlijk does get credit for execution. The duck cooked just right, still pink. The dorado was flavorful. And the lamb was tender. The wine list was so limited, I settled for the house wine, an OK Valpolicella. Expensive bottled water is served only – no tap. The espresso afterwards was not hot enough and tasted slightly stale – and to top it all I had to get sugar myself from a neighboring table.

We definitely won’t be back to Heerlijk. We might go back to Tante Agaath if we happen to be in the area. And while I had marked restaurant week in my agenda the last two times, I will probably skip the next one!