If a tuna sandwich met tomato toast—both of which happen to be on the list of my top summer meals—you’d get this tuna and tomato number. It’s crunchy, it’s juicy, it requires just one pan (and that’s literally only for making toast). It’s a simple tuna salad on garlic-rubbed toast, topped with tomatoes, but not just any tomatoes: tomatoes dusted with fennel seeds, cumin, and chile flakes. This mega-simple meal is the answer for several summer situations: You’re having a lazy, sweaty evening at home; you’re at a beach or lakeside rental with minimal kitchen equipment; you’re camping but plan to eat like you’re glamping. Plus, it’ll run you just $10.
Let's talk about the stars here, tuna and tomatoes, two ingredients that can either be quite cheap or quite pricey; oftentimes quality is the biggest factor. When it comes to canned tuna, oil-packed tends to be more expensive by several dollars than water-packed. I’d typically go for the former, but when the tuna’s getting mixed with mayo and slathered on oil-toasted bread, there’s really no need for the additional fat, even if the flesh tends to be slightly more tender. Still, water-packed options are even cheaper when the tuna was less sustainably caught, so I feel it’s as important to read the label as it is the price tag—my research has led me to 365 Canned Wild Tuna, which is $1.99 per 5-ounce can (you’ll need two for this recipe) and 100 percent pole- and line-caught—there are indeed cheaper and more expensive tunas on the market; as always with this column, I recommend you buy what’s best for your budget. Break up the tuna with mayo, chopped red, celery, and dill pickles ($1).
Moving on to tomatoes. While I have personally dropped $25 in a single visit to the farmers market on the heaviest, juiciest heirloom tomatoes that practically burst at the slightest nudge (they’re only like this once a year in New York!), you don’t need the most perfect tomatoes to make this sandwich taste like summer on a plate—the spices, which you’ll likely have on hand, plus a hefty shower of salt and pepper, make even winter tomatoes seem less sad. That said, you need only a couple small or one big 'mater for this meal, which will run you less than $2 at the farmers market or the grocery store, so I say buy the good ones if you can.
Next, you’ll toast bread—I like thick slices of country-style pullman or rye ($2 for four) for this, fried into toast with a bit of olive oil in a cast-iron skillet. Pile on the tuna and the seasoned tomatoes, and then open a bag of potato chips. So integral are the chips ($1) to this meal that I’ve formally factored them into the final price tag. Skip them if you want, but know you’re missing out.
If you want to spend another buck or two (or happen to have some in the fridge!), make this a melt by adding 2 ounces of shredded cheddar: After toasting the first side of the bread in Step 3, flip it and carefully rub the toasted side with garlic. Pile on the tuna, then sprinkle over the cheese and cover with a lid to melt, then finish with the tomatoes. Happy toast season, one and all! —Rebecca Firkser
Nickel & Dine is a budget column by Rebecca Firkser, assigning editor at Food52 and toast-for-dinner lover. Each month, Rebecca will share an easy, flavor-packed recipe that feeds four (or just you, four times)—all for $10 or less. —The Editors
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