Tuna Casserole: Creamy goodness

creamy tuna casserole

Sometimes there's nothing like simple, basic childhood favorites. In my family we all tease my sister about her childhood roux obsession and how when she was a pre-teen she spent lot of hours at the stove making bechamel, casseroles, and cream puffs—anything that required a butter-flour paste.

I share her roux obsession and, even more, love béchamel (white) sauce. It's my casserole staple: pasta + béchamel +/- protein + cheese means you "can't hardly" miss making something gorgeous.

I eyeball my roux. Consult a recipe (I learned from Joy of Cooking) to learn the technique if you need, but I make it thusly:

• 1 stick butter (melt until foamy)
• 1/2 cup flour (add to butter, stir, cook several minutes to eliminate the raw flour taste)
• enough milk to make the sauce the consistency I want (anywhere from 2-4 cups)
• a grating of nutmeg (I used to go the clove-studded onion route, but I like nutmeg in my bechamel a little better)

When making tuna casserole, I saute onion and celery in the butter then add the flour and milk. Yes, the bechamel is lumpy because of the veggies, but in a casserole it doesn't matter. Then I combine the sauce with one can of olive-oil-packed Italian tuna and mix well. The tuna-embellished sauce is then combined with one box of cooked (very al dente) elbow macaroni (or other short pasta), and a couple of handfuls of frozen peas if I have them on hand. A grating of pecorino romano over the top is all I need, but you could do buttered breadcrumbs or a combination of buttered breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350º (or until lightly browned on top) and dig in.

The recipe led my four-year-old to declare: "This is the most delicious pasta ever!"

[photo: Stefania Pomponi Butler]

Comments

[Alisyn]

I made this last night and it RULED. Note: not as good if you make it at 3, but don't bake it til 5:30. But the leftovers? Duuuuude. Yum.

[Karen]

I just love tuna casserole! I have to admit that I don't make it too much, mostly because my husband cannot tolerate canned tuna. Next time he's out of town, though, I think it's time.

Glad to have found your blog, with the family - food thing we have going and all!

[Lea]

Thanks for suggesting an alternative to the dump-in-a-can-of-creamed-soup school of casserole making. It's got to be better to use your own quality ingredients than whatever ends up smooshed into those cans.

Can I go off-topic for a moment for a bit of cookware advice? I agree about using cast iron instead of Teflon, but how do you clean it? Do you use dish soap? I use my iron skillet only for my killer buttermilk cornbread, then just wipe it out...not sure how I'd clean it if I used it for eggs, etc.

Must add that All-Clad rox! I have the Copper Chef line and looooove it, though you do have to hand-wash it. Cleans up easy, though, cause nothing ever sticks or burns. It's ca. 1994 and still as wonderful as the day I unpacked it from the crate.

Did you see the new Emile Henry rice cooker at Williams-Sonoma? I haven't pined so for a piece of cookware in a long time.... I make rice in a pot the same way my Charlestonian grandmother did, but this piece is pretty enough to make me try a new way.

- L

[CityMama]

An Emile Henri rice cooker? Oh, I WILL be checking that out...My Zojirushi is going strong after 10 years though. I swear they are indestructable.

To clean my cast iron, I don't use soap. I use one of those loopy plastic or sometimes metal scrubbers and scrub-scrub-scrub. If the pan is really greasy, I might use just a drop of dish soap. Then I put it on the stove and heat it up until it dries. This also helps santitize. When its cool, I then rub the entire pan with coconut oil (solid at room temps, avail. at health food stores) and put it away. You can also use Crisco (it does have transfats, tho). I like doing it this way because then it's seasoned everytime it's used.