Tuna Noodle Casserole

I love tuna noodle casserole, probably because I love Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup, which tastes much like the sauce does in this dish (and is called for in some recipes). Not very haute cuisine, but nothing whets the appetite like some down-home, hearty comfort food. I often buy tuna noodle casserole in the form of a frozen entree (the lighter Lean Cuisine version, which is a staple for my lunch at work to keep my daily calorie intake in check). But, once in a blue moon, I like making this rich, indulgent dish from scratch. Soy sauce and Worcestershire are not traditional ingredients for this recipe, but they really complement the flavors and you'll never know they are in there.  

Ingredients:

16-oz. curly egg noodles, fusilli, linguine or fettuccine 

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 8-oz. packages of button mushrooms, sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 cup green peas
2 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. granulated garlic

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced (or 1 tsp. dried)

1/2 cup dry sherry or white wine

4 tbsp. unsalted butter

3/4 cup flour

4 cups (32-oz.) unsalted chicken broth
3 cups whole milk 

1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. kosher salt (or to taste)

Four 6-oz. cans water-packed tuna, drained 

1 cup Panko (or other) bread crumbs
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated 

1/2 tsp. paprika

1. Fill a medium pot with water and add a generous sprinkling of salt (about 1 tbsp.). Bring to a boil; add the pasta and cook until al dente. Most pastas take about 12-15 minutes to cook; drain the pasta in a colander and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil over high heat in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add chopped onion and garlic & cook, stirring frequently until softened, about 5-6 minutes. Do not brown.

3. Add mushrooms. Saute until mushrooms begin to soften, about 3-4 minutes (if too dry, add a splash of sherry or white wine). Season with 1 tsp. of salt. 

4. Add 4 tbsp. of unsalted butter and stir in the celery; cook for 1 minute. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, black pepper, 1 tsp. kosher salt, dried thyme, granulated garlic, parsley and sherry or white wine and bring to a boil. Cook about 15-20 seconds to cook off the alcohol.

5. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetable mixture and stir constantly until well incorporated, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and milk and bring to a boil; stir frequently with a wooden spoon or whisk until the mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Add kosher salt, up to 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. (tasting after addition of each teaspoon to ensure the sauce is not too salty and to your taste).

6. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the drained tuna, stirring in gently (try to keep the tuna in bite-sized chunks). 

7. Stir in the drained pasta and bring the mixture up to a boil. Turn off heat and set aside.

8. Preheat oven to 350F.

9. Lightly butter or grease a large casserole dish; pour in the tuna-noodle mixture.

10. Combine grated cheese with Panko bread crumbs and paprika and sprinkle evenly over the casserole. Bake about 30 minutes or until mixture is hot & bubbly and the crumb topping is golden brown. 

Sliced mushrooms & celery, and chopped onion.

Bread crumb of choice is Panko.

Cook chopped onion and garlic in olive oil over high heat until softened. 

Add peas.

Stir in flour.

Add milk and unsalted chicken stock to mushroom mixture.

Season with salt.

Gently stir in tuna. 

Cook pasta in boiling salted water for about 12-15 minutes or until al dente.

Drain pasta.

Add pasta to the sauce.

Pour pasta into casserole and sprinkle the top with the Panko-cheese mixture. 

You can also use cooked fettuccine or linguine instead of curly egg noodles for this dish.

Bake about 30 minutes or until bubbly and browned.