Tunacado

I cannot say enough about this Tunacado sandwich!! Crispy flatbread with a generous slather of pesto (homemade or store-bought) slices of avocado, creamy tangy herby tuna mousse and sliced tomatoes. Doesn’t sound like anything magical but I promise you it is. The combination of flavours and textures hit perfectly and you will want to get on this trend ASAP. Its not like any other tuna salad sandwich you have ever had and although its been trending on tik Tok recently its long been a favourite sandwich at Joe & The Juice a Danish chain of juice bars and coffee shops in Denmark and around the world.

Tunacado

The closest Joe & The Juice is Vancouver airport or in New York so I had to recreate this beauty at home and I can’t wait to try it at their juice bar one of these days to see how my version stacks up. I was totally influenced by a tiktoker who eats and chews really close to her camera - I was equally mesmerized and influenced by her - haha! Actually she has a very similar palate to mine and I just love everything she eats minus the ridiculous amount of caviar. She loves tangy salty things - pickles, pickled fruit and veggies, loads of pungent tangy mustards, salt and vinegar chips and she is a Doritos loving gal - my kind of gal! So I had to try this sandwich out which she usually has with slathers of extra mustard on and crunchy tangy dill pickles. Im not into a lot of the tik Tok trends - maybe because I’m old or maybe because a lot of them are too ridiculous (but that might also be just cause I’m old). But this is one I’m fully on board with and totally will recommend - as a tuna salad sandwich lover myself - this Tunacado sandwich took that love to the next level - try it - you will see! It’s is the trendy or dare I say viral tiktok sandwich worth making

Tunacado

Tunacado Ingredients

For the Sandwich

  • Bread - OK so the original recipe calls for Joe’s classic bread sort of like a multigrain whole wheat bread - calabrese looking bread that gets flattened in a panini press first then sliced after - well I don’t have a press so my solution to that is a nice and thin flatbread that I toast in the toaster or I like to also toast It on my grill pan
  • Olive oil - from brushing bread if grilling - not needed if you toast your bread in a toaster
  • Tuna - I like to use chunk tuna in water but feel free to use any kind or brand you prefer - just make sure to drain it well
  • Avocado - use one that is ripe enough to slice with a butter knife and is nice and soft but still slice-able
  • Tomato - juicy red and ripe tomatoes are what I prefer but still sliceable
  • Pesto - I used a store-bought version because I always have some in the fridge but feel free to make it from scratch - my homemade pesto is great if you wanted a homemade recipe. Feel free to use a vegan pesto if you prefer as well

For the Tuna ‘Mousse”

  • Fresh Herbs - I love to add chopped fresh dill and chopped fresh parsley to my tuna salad
  • Green Onion - I love the fresh flavors that green onions or chives add to my tuna salad but if you prefer red onion or a shallot feel free to mince either and add instead
  • Lemon Juice - freshly squeezed is always best and just a little is needed
  • Mayonnaise - i like to use a regular mayo. It adds both flavor and texture, feel free to use dairy or dairy free
  • Mustard - I like using dijon mustard but a grainy mustard woks well too as well as regular yellow mustard to prepared mustard
  • Capers - or chopped dill pickles

Tunacado

Easy Instructions On Making A Tunacado sandwich

  1. TOAST/GRILL Bread - brush bread with a little olive oil if grilling, skip if toasting in toaster then set aside once toasted. (Toasting your bread on the stovetop with a touch of oil or butter will get it much crispier and have more flavor than just toasting in the toaster)
  2. MAKE your tuna mousse - mix all the ingredients up In a bowl or place them all in a food chopper or food processor and pulse until creamy or desired texture. Taste your tuna filling to see if you want to add any more ingredients before filling the sandwich.
  3. SLICE and prep your veggies - tomatoes and avocados
  4. ASSEMBLE sandwich - add layer of pesto to each slice, avocado slices on one side, tuna mousse and tomato slices on the other. Flip the side with the avocado on top of the tuna mousse and ENJOY!

Tunacado

Can I Make Ahead or Make this Tunacado Sandwich for Meal Prep?

Yes You definitely can - at least partially. The tuna mousse can be made and stored in the fridge for up to 3-5 days in an airtight container. If you are making your own pesto it can keep up to 2 weeks in the fridge in an airtight container. the rest of the ingredients are best prepared and sliced when you are ready to make your sandwich.

Tunacado

What to Serve With a Tunacado Sandwich

  • Salad - a green salad with lettuce, tomato, and cucumber pairs well with a tuna sandwich. You can also add other veggies such as bell peppers, carrots, or onions to the salad.
  • Chips or crackers - Chips, such as potato chips or tortilla chips, or crackers, such as cheese crackers or crackers with seeds, can be served on the side of a tuna sandwich. Im a huge fan of serving this with salt and vinegar chips
  • Fruit - Fresh fruit is always a good option - a healthy and refreshing side dish to any tuna sandwich.
  • Soup - any kind of simple soup works well with a tuna sandwich
  • Fries - either deep fried or air fried
  • Extra Condiments - like dil pickles, sweet pickles, extra mayo or extra mustard, extra capers, pickled onions, hot sauce, pickled jalapeños etc..

Tunacado

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Recipe

Servings: Makes 1 sandwich
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 20 min

Ingredients

Tunacado mousse

  • 1 can of chunk light tuna in water, drained
  • 1 scallion, minced
  • 1 teaspoon capers drained, minced
  • 2 sprigs of fresh dill, minced
  • 2 springs of fresh parsley, minced
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
  • 2-3 tablespoons of mayonnaise,
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Tunacado Assembly

  • 2 slices of thin flat bread
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil for brushing flat bread
  • ½ of an avocado, sliced
  • ½ of a tomato, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons pesto Homemade or Store-bought Pesto - If you’re looking for a pesto recipe you can find one here.

Directions

  1. Grill/toast bread: Brush flat bread with olive oil. Heat a non stick skillet or a grill pan to medium-high heat. Toast the bread until it’s golden brown and crispy (you can use a panini press if you have one and if using focaccia or calabrese bread) set aside
  2. Make the tuna mousse: Add tuna, mayonnaise, dill, parsley, scallions, mustard, capers to a food processor and whiz until creamy OR place in a bowl and use a fork to mix until combined and creamy. Add more Mayo if needed to reach desired texture and season with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Assemble sandwich: Spread about 1 ½ tablespoons of pesto on each half of the bread.
  4. Add avocado: Arrange the slices of avocado on one slice.
  5. Add tuna mousse: Spread the tuna mousse on the other slice.
  6. Add tomato:Top the tuna mousse with tomato slices.
  7. Finish adding additional toppings if desired: Add toppings such as capers, pickles, mustard, hot sauce as desired

Recipe Notes

  • The original recipe has a cross hatch pattern on the bread when grilled - to achieve that just grill your bread on an angle like I have pictured above then turn the bread and angle it the opposite side fro those opposing grill marks
  • I like to grill the outside or one side of each piece of bread only - save the softer side for the inside of the sandwich so it can more easily soak up some the delicious flavour of the pesto. If you prefer grill or toast both sides that is fine too

Tunacado