I think if you’d asked me a couple years ago if I wanted tuna casserole my response would be, “hecks to the no.” Think about it; warm, stinky tuna with cheese? Doesn’t sound too appetizing but I tend to trust my cooking over someone else’s. And like a lot of new dishes, I figure if I make it I can control the flavor and how stinky and cheesy the dish could be. So I buckled down and made my own version of tuna casserole.
2 cans tuna
8 to 9 oz whole grain penne or any short pasta (or half of a box)
1 C light mayo
1 C light sour cream
1 C baby bella mushrooms, sliced (button will work as well)
½ onion, chopped
1 garlic clove
½ to 1 C sharp cheddar cheese (I used Wisconsin white)
1½ C broccoli, peas, or some other lovely green veggie
1 to 1½ cups of panko bread crumbs
1 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
paprika
salt and pepper
2 tsp herbs de provence
Start by bringing water to a boil in a large sauce pan and adding the pasta. If you're using fresh broccoli, blanch your broccoli and set aside. While that's going, saute the garlic, onions and mushrooms in the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and herbs de provence. Set aside and let mixture cool. Then, add the mushroom mixture to a bowl containing the sour cream, mayo and broccoli. Once pasta is cooked to al dente (firm but not hard), put the pasta in a colander and run cool water on top to stop the cooking process. Drain excess water and add pasta to mushroom sour cream mixture. Dump both cans of drained tuna and half of the cheese into the mixture. Add some paprika for a little heat.
Lastly, dump mixture into a casserole dish and sprinkle with a layer of the breadcrumbs on top of dish. Add cheese and drizzle melted butter on top. Add a dash of paprika for color and place casserole in a 350 degree preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes. Take that sucker out and enjoy!
If you find this casserole too labor intensive, use canned mushroom soup. I opted to create a mixture that mimicked the consistency of mushroom soup so I can control the salt content. Also, If you are not sure what panko breadcrumbs are or where to find them you can also use crushed Ritz crackers. If you really want panko, search for them in your ethnic foods aisle.
Start by bringing water to a boil in a large sauce pan and adding the pasta. If you're using fresh broccoli, blanch your broccoli and set aside. While that's going, saute the garlic, onions and mushrooms in the olive oil. Season with salt, pepper and herbs de provence. Set aside and let mixture cool. Then, add the mushroom mixture to a bowl containing the sour cream, mayo and broccoli. Once pasta is cooked to al dente (firm but not hard), put the pasta in a colander and run cool water on top to stop the cooking process. Drain excess water and add pasta to mushroom sour cream mixture. Dump both cans of drained tuna and half of the cheese into the mixture. Add some paprika for a little heat.
Lastly, dump mixture into a casserole dish and sprinkle with a layer of the breadcrumbs on top of dish. Add cheese and drizzle melted butter on top. Add a dash of paprika for color and place casserole in a 350 degree preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes. Take that sucker out and enjoy!
If you find this casserole too labor intensive, use canned mushroom soup. I opted to create a mixture that mimicked the consistency of mushroom soup so I can control the salt content. Also, If you are not sure what panko breadcrumbs are or where to find them you can also use crushed Ritz crackers. If you really want panko, search for them in your ethnic foods aisle.
