‘wichcraft Pole Caught Tuna Sandwich

Tom Colicchio’s restaurant, Craft, was overrated and really expensive. His sandwich shop, ‘wichcraft, on the other hand, has an amazing sandwich that I could probably eat for lunch everyday (if it weren’t $8.50 for just the sandwich). I found my way to ‘wichcraft last Thursday after walking around Saks on Fashion Night Out and was looking for a snack before heading to my friend’s fashion show in the west village. I’m not too familiar with quick dinners around Rockefeller (unless you count chicken and rice) but I somehow landed in front of ‘wichcraft and decided it was time I finally tried their sandwiches. The pole caught tuna caught my eye and the cashier said it was a really good sandwich, except for the lemon, but she said I could just pick it out. I devoured the sandwich in less than 5 minutes; it was crunchy, creamy, really flavorful and so delicious I contemplated ordering another one to go. I didn’t, but on Friday, I purchased some tuna at Whole Foods so I could recreate the sandwich at home.

The only thing I didn’t like about the sandwich was the bread; the baguette was a little tough (possibly because it was the end of the night and the bread was lying around the store all day) but since I was making it at home, I had the luxury of choosing what kind of bread I wanted to use!

Ingredients:

Olive oil (if you buy tuna in water instead of olive oil)
One can of tuna
Mayonnaise (‘wichcraft has aioli, but I used mayonnaise because I didn’t feel like making aioli)
Fennel (I used about 1/4 of a bulb)
One lemon (I used about half of a lemon for one can
Kalamata olives
Salt and pepper
Bread (I bought some rosemary sourdough bread from Whole Foods and it is AMAZING)

This sandwich is super easy to make and it’s a protein-packed snack, so it’s great for everyday eating (especially if you keep the mayo portion to a minimum). First, I cut up a lemon:

The cashier didn’t like the lemon because I’m guessing the pith was a little bitter, so I just got rid of it. After slicing up the lemon, I sliced up these delicious olives:

I used about 7 olives because it’s really the only salt you need for the tuna, but you can vary this based on your preference. Set aside the cut up olives. Also cut up some fennel (I used about 1/4 of the bulb for one can of tuna, but this really depends on your preference for crunchiness). Set aside the fennel.

Next, open up your can of tuna and start breaking it up:

Any tuna is fine, especially if you don’t have enough money for ventresca tuna ($12 at Whole Foods) or you don’t have an Ecuadorian friend bringing it in every time she visits home (thank you, Maria!) Add some olive oil, too, especially if you end up buying tuna in spring water because it’s the only tuna left at the store:

Don’t worry if your tuna isn’t bite-sized yet, there will be more mixing soon. After the olive oil has been added (only a little bit – about 1/2 tablespoon), add the mayonnaise:

I added one big spoonful because tuna and mayo just go together. After the mayo has been mixed a little, add the lemon slices:

And the fennel:

And finally, the olives:

Mix them together, add some pepper, and pack it up:

Spread it over some bread (I like to eat it as an open-faced sandwich) the way we did at the office:

The fennel is a grown-up version of celery because of the slight anise taste and the lemon adds a fresh taste as well. It was an amazing late afternoon snack that David loved, too!: