Rachael Ray's Secret To Brighten Up A Hot And Melty Comfort Food Classic

Food Network star Rachael Ray became famous for her easy cooking methods on shows like "30 Minute Meals," and she had some iconic moments on her "Rachael Ray Show." She's all about adding flavor and texture in an effortless way, and when she's craving a comfort food, she'll prep a quick tuna melt. For the best flavor, Rachael Ray's perfect tuna melt has two secret ingredients: lemon juice and olive oil.

Canned tuna comes in a few varieties, but a common choice is to buy it in either water or oil. Ray prefers the latter, once noting that she enjoys tuna in olive oil because it's how she grew up eating it. She also has suggested that its low price point makes it a good protein to keep in the pantry (if you don't already have a few cans, check out our ranking of canned tuna brands). Ray also credits lemon and oil as being the only ingredients you need for an easy, tasty tuna salad. Lemon juice adds a natural acidity and brightness to any rich dish, and it contrasts nicely with the fattier oil and flavorful fish. Alongside those two staple ingredients, Ray usually adds in other things like shaved fennel, celery, capers, and fresh herbs.

When Rachael Ray wants to turn tuna salad into a tuna melt, she doesn't reach for fresh bakery bread. Instead, she preps it on stale panini bread, likely because it gets extra crispy when it toasts up. Stale bread has plenty of uses besides a tuna melt base, so it's never worth throwing out (as long as it's not moldy). Use it for homemade breadcrumbs or croutons or as the bread in your French onion soup. For an extra crispy tuna melt, toast both sides of the bread.

Finally, Ray brings all the tuna salad flavors together with the addition of a fontina cheese layer, likely due to its flavor and texture that act as complements to the tuna melt. Fontina is a semi-hard cow's milk cheese with a texture that melts nicely, making it the perfect tuna melt topping. Plus, its rich, slightly nutty flavor pairs well with the ingredients in Ray's tuna salad. If you can't find fontina, you can substitute Gruyére or mild provolone instead.