There's a virtual discussion going on right now at the High Calling blog about a book that I have an essay in called The Spirit of Food: 34 Writers on Fasting and Feasting Toward God. It's a very neat collection that I'm still working my way through, like a bar of good dark chocolate!
I was super crunched for time when they requested a recipe to go with my essay and I tried to submit one for tomato soup, but they already had a similar one, so I ended up going with the uber-simple option of Grilled Zucchini. If I'd had more time to think and experiment, here's the one that I wish I could have submitted. I cooked this one up in the first week of January when my creativity was being refreshed by a much-needed vacation.
Grown-Up Tuna Noodle Casserole
I grew up loving the old standby that was simply a combination of a bag of egg noodles, two cans of tuna and two cans of cream of mushroom soup. I would guess it's second only to green bean casserole in the Campbell's condensed soup recipe empire. Our family always had buttered bread and apple sauce on the side, with vanilla or butterscotch pudding for dessert (one of only two meals ever followed by dessert in our house--the other was chili and chocolate pudding).
This recipe may seem like it has a lot of steps, but you're basically preparing four different elements to combine and bake into creamy, comfort food goodness: noodles, garlic cream sauce, crumb topping and a combination of sautéed ingredients. It's well worth the effort! And unlike some other comfort food reproductions, it really does scratch the nostalgic itch of four cans and a bag of noodles, but with much higher quality ingredients and an herby, lemony twist. Enjoy!
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, in a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook until tender:
• 8 oz. thick egg noodles (I like Amish-style noodles myself)
Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, sauté:
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 16 oz. mushrooms, chopped
• 1 lg. clove of garlic, crushed
• ½ tsp. salt
• plenty of freshly ground pepper
When mushrooms are nearly cooked through, add and briefly sauté just until heated:
• 1 c. peas (fresh or frozen)
• 12 oz. white albacore tuna*
Transfer mixture to large casserole dish and wipe out frying pan to use for next step: bread crumbs. In the frying pan, combine and heat:
• ¼ c. olive oil
• ½ tsp. dried dill (or more if you really like dill)
• ¾ tsp salt
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 ½ c. bread crumbs**
Saute and stir frequently until bread crumbs are crisp and beginning to brown. Remove from heat and set aside. Next, you'll tackle the cream sauce. In a medium saucepan, melt:
• 3 Tbsp. butter
Then, whisk in until it forms a paste:
• 3 Tbsp. white unbleached flour
Be careful not to let the mixture brown. Add all at once and whisk into flour mixture:
• 1 ¾ c. warm milk
Bring to a boil. Add:
• 1 lg. clove of garlic, crushed
• Salt and pepper to taste
Lower the heat and stir while cooking 2-3 minutes more as mixture thickens, then set aside. Last step before combining everything to bake--prepare:
• 1 c. sharp cheddar, shredded
Now that you have all of your ingredients prepped, stir the cream sauce and noodles into the casserole dish with the tuna mixture. Top casserole with shredded cheese and then bread crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly and cheese is melted.
* I used canned tuna in water, but you could also substitute other varieties of fish--even leftover salmon.
** I throw bread ends, pitas, rolls, etc. into the freezer any time we have extra and then I use an immersion blender to turn them into crumbs whenever I need bread crumbs.
