UPDATED CREAMY TUNA CASSEROLE WITH CRUNCHY TOPPING: frugal, easy, good fibre, option for dairy-free

SCRUMPTIOUS KIDULT' FOOD, Easy-peasy, wallet-friendly

updated sept 25; first posted 2015

Dairy-free Creamy Tuna Casserole

This is - basically - kids' food but is great for a singleton or an exhausted parent who needs something comforting, quick but not horribly unhealthy.  Very easy to put together, very tasty, iand still relatively wallet-friendly, it is a favourite of many families.

Tinned tuna is one of the tastiest and most popular budget proteins.  Used wisely, a tin of tuna at 80p a pop makes pleasing dishes that will feed 4, though an extra tin will give the casserole a punch.  

Kids love the taste and texture but try not to make a habit of it -- over-fishing is a problem and too much tinned food is not good for the health.  

This recipe uses nutty wholemeal pasta; which is absorbed into the bloodstream more slowly than white, preventing 'carb-doze'.  It also gets the digestive system moving, keeping the bowels regular and preventing the build-up of toxins that cause bad skin and lack of energy.  Luckily. when cooked, the texture of wholemeal pasta is similar to white and the kids won't notice. 

The dairy-free version pictured is below.  Be warned, the dairy-free option is not as flavourful as the conventional recipe but with additions of mustard and chilli flakes holds its own.

The pasta can be made in advance but should not be kept in the fridge more than 3 days, including the day the casserole was cooked. 

The finished dish freezes well.  Reheat gently (steamed or boiled in a bag) with a bit of milk, extra seasoning and a few more crisps.

A word on some of the ingredients:   
Condensed mushroom soup was originally used in this recipe because honestly, there was nothing else like it. But condensed soups are more expensive than garden variety tinned mushroom soups from say M&S or Waitrose which are quite decent in flavour and saves pennies. 

As for the crisp topping - if crisps offend you, use breadcrumbs or don't bother with a topping at all.

Cost: min £4.00'ish (9/25), more for dairy-free
Feeds: 4-6 with sides 

Ingred: (Dairy-free recipe below)

200-250 gm/7-8 oz dried wholemeal pasta
1-2 x 160g/5.6oz tin(s) tuna, mostly drained (1 tin will do but a second tin makes the dish go further)

generous mug of frozen peas

generous handful tinned or frozen corn (opt)
5-6 lightly fried mushrooms, chopped coarsely (opt but lifts flavour)
1 tin condensed mushroom soup (low-salt if possible) or 1.5 tins standard mushroom soup OR 400g/14.1oz light white sauce  

pepper & a little salt (kosher salt needs twice the amount of regular salt)
couple of pinches of dried thyme (opt)
40 gm bag of lightly salted and/or fat-reduced crisps (opt)

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C, 180 fan, gas 6.  
2. Grease an oven-proof glass baking dish, 9" x13" or line a metal dish with greaseproof paper.
3. Coarsely chop mushrooms, lightly fry; set aside
4. Cook pasta according to packet instructions but if kids are eating this, 1-2 minutes more.  The pasta should have some give and not be too soft.  During the last few minutes of cooking, add frozen peas & corn if using; drain
5. For (a) condensed soup add a tin of milk or stock  (b) standard soup, use 1.5 tins (keep remaining 1/2 tin for another time) add 1/2 tin milk or water (c) OR make about 400g/14.1oz/ ml vegan white ( béchamel) sauce  (recipe below); 
6. Drain tuna, breaking up large chunks but don't flake it; maintain texture contrast. Add with mushrooms to pasta mix.
7. Season with thyme (opt) pepper & salt (kosher salt needs twice the amount of regular salt); stir; pour into baking dish; liquid should cover pasta generously; if not,   add more milk.  Bake in the middle of the oven 15 mins
8. Meanwhile break up crisps into some big pieces and some rubble.  (If assigning this task to kids or a novice chef, keep a watchful eye or they will go mad and leave nothing but rubble.)  After the first 15 mins, scatter crisps over casserole
9. Cook a further 10 mins or until brown and crisping at the edges 
10. Serve with shredded lettuce lightly drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sliced tomatoes lightly sprayed with olive oil and lightly salted.

Dairy Free option

Cost: min £4.00'ish (9/25)
Feeds: 4-5 with sides

Ingred:

200-250 gm/7-8 oz dried wholemeal pasta
1-2 x 160g/5.6oz tin(s) tuna, drained 
generous mug of frozen peas

generous handful tinned or frozen corn
5-6 lightly fried mushrooms, chopped coarsely (opt but lifts flavour)
400g/14.1oz vegan white sauce (see below)

1 tbsp vegan stock powder or cubes

generous pinch chilli flakes (opt) 

pepper & a salt ( the amount of kosher salt needs to be doubled compared to table salt)  

couple of pinches of dried thyme (opt)

40 gm bag of lightly salted and/or fat-reduced crisps (opt)

Quick & Easy Dairy-free bechamel sauce with mushrooms: 

30g/1oz vegan butter 

          5-6 mushrooms coarsely chopped

400 ml plant milk

1 small bay leaf

30g/1oz plain flour

salt & pepper 

freshly grated nutmeg

(opt) egg yolk for richness

 

1. melt butter in a large pan; add mushrooms, strirring until brown and most of liquid has been released.  
2. Scatter over flour; cook until raw taste is gone & mixture smells nutty (try not to let it catch on the bottom of the pan)
3. Add milk gradually to pot, whisking continuously and scraping at the bottom until all is amalgamated
4. Bring to a boil; immediately turn heat to simmer; continue whisking until thick, about 5-6 mins
5. For added richness, cool a little, beat egg yolk and add little by little to the sauce

 

 

Tips:

• If cooking the pasta in advance, add a little oil after draining to keep the pasta from sticking 
• replace half the peas with corn
• blanched broccoli heads or green beans can replace peas
• you can serve more veg like diced cooked carrots or raw carrot curls on the side for extra vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and colour    

This recipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.