Tuna Casserole: a one-dish meal

The much maligned tuna casserole takes on a whole new life here!

I’m not much of a fish fan, particularly if the fish is strongly flavoured, but this is so good that I bake it in a lasagne pan so the leftovers can be cut into squares and packaged for work/school lunches the following day. This is fast to assemble and can be cooked ahead, refrigerated, and reheated in the microwave without difficulty. A delicious, fast, and economical way to fill up the family on busy nights.

Tasty Tuna Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans light tuna, packed in water, drained (or 2 chicken breasts, cubed small)
1 can condensed cream of celery soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 lb (500g) dry noodles (egg noodles, fettucini, etc)
½ (250gr) lb mild yellow cheese, grated (Colby or longhorn is fab!)
½ (250gr) lb mild white cheese, grated (Monterey Jack is great)
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 or more (roasted) garlic cloves, mashed
⅔ cup frozen baby peas
1 tsp fines herbes
½ tsp dry mustard (optional)
1 soup can of milk

Preparation:

Before you start cooking, set the oven for 350°F and spray a lasagne dish with cooking spray.


Boil the noodles in salted water according to package directions. While the noodles are cooking, if you are using tuna, drain the tuna and turn it into a large bowl and break it up with a fork into smallish chunks. Saute onion, garlic (if fresh), fines herbes (and chicken pieces, if using chicken) together. Add the condensed soups, milk, the onion and garlic (and chicken), the mustard, peas, and half of each of the cheeses to the bowl. Mix well.


When the noodles are done, drain thoroughly and add to the mixture in the bowl. Mix well. If the mixture is dry (it should be stiff but not dry) add a little milk and mix some more.


Turn mixture out into the lasagne pan and spread out to fill the pan. Sprinkle the yellow cheese over the top and then the white cheese. Cover with foil (to keep the noodles from drying out) and put in the oven. (Spray the foil with cooking spray to keep it from sticking to the cheese.)


Bake for 45 minutes or until the cheese melts.


Allow to sit for 15 minutes, uncovered, then cut into pieces like lasagne and serve.

No salt is added to this dish because the condensed soups, and the cheese all have salt in them, and the noodles are cooked in salted water.