l love tuna Nicoise salads; ALWAYS!!!!

Pre-pandemic, lunch was easy. I ate leftovers or got a takeout burrito and my husband went to one of the food carts near his office downtown. Then, there was a lockdown, and suddenly I had another daily chore: fixing lunch for the both of us.

This soon became a grind. Once, after we had downed yet another boring tuna salad sandwich, I had had enough. I vowed to come up with an idea that would make tuna much more interesting.

I tapped into my memory of traveling in the sunny south of France, where I fell in love with tuna Niçoise salads. I took my favorite parts of this French classic—good-quality canned tuna, ripe tomatoes, and briny olives—and mixed them up for a light salad topping. The juiciness of the tomatoes meant I didn’t need any mayonnaise here.

I piled the chunky mixture onto slabs of crusty homemade bread (another pandemic cooking skill) and topped the open-face sandwiches with grated Gruyère cheese. A few minutes under the broiler et voilà: lunch in Nice (almost). These open-face Niçoise-inspired tuna melts remain a regular part of my lunch repertoire today because, as my husband put it, “It’s like a tuna sandwich with a French accent.”

ALWAYS!!!!!

I didn't write this, but my sentiment is identical!!!

Got olives yesterday, so will have them soon.