Cooking For Joy

Tuna Melt Nachos Are Easy, Inelegant, and Childish

They’re also comforting and, I’d argue, necessary

Tuna melt nachos and excellent baby thigh rolls. Photo: Daniel Meyer

There’s a lot of hardcore cooking going on these days: We’re trapped at home, our kitchens are (hopefully) stocked, and the alternatives to preparing our own food are becoming less and less viable (not a good thing by any stretch, but an interesting development in a country that has come to grossly undervalue home cooking). Anyway, chickens are roasting, beans are bubbling away, and, because we’ve suddenly become captive cooks, recipes that require time and patience are increasingly fair game.

This is not one of those recipes.

It’s probably even an overstatement to call it a “recipe,” but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t one of the more satisfying things I’ve eaten in the last six months — what that says about me and my priorities is open to interpretation.

So…start by making some tuna to your specifications. I’m a cheap date here (a can, ample mayo, salt and pepper — that’s it), but you do you. It’s worth noting that this is going on top of nachos, so a certain creamy/saucy quality (hence the heavy mayo) is not a bad thing. Set it aside.

Because we’ve suddenly become captive cooks, recipes that…