Curry Chickpea Tuna Melt

This version of the old-school and well-loved lunch standby bumps up the flavor with curry and cilantro, along with the extra protein of chickpeas. This recipe makes enough tuna topping for a quite large slice of country bread (my slice is almost 11” long), so adjust the number of slices you need accordingly. Also, the grated cheese that falls on the sheet pan might be my favorite part as they turn into incredibly crispy cheddar bits. Also, feel free to add a bit of celery— which for a lot of folks is imperative for a tuna melt.

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Serves 1

INGREDIENTS

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¾ cup tuna
¼ cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp curry powder
1 cup white cheddar, grated
¼ cup cilantro leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish
½ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 large slice country bread

METHOD

Turn on broiler and adjust oven rack to top half of oven.

Place bread on a parchment lined sheet pan and place under broiler for approximately 2-3 minutes on each side until lightly toasted. Remove from broiler and set aside.

In a bowl, mix chickpeas, tuna, mayonnaise, mustard, curry power, cilantro, salt and pepper. Evenly mound mixture on toast. Follow with white cheddar, taking care to cover all tuna mixture. Some cheese will fall onto sheet pan which is great— they will become crispy and delicious! Place back under broiler until cheese melts and is just golden brown. Transfer tuna melt to a plate, garnish with remaining cilantro and serve immediately.