The chat went something like this.
Craig-At-Work: What’s for dinner?
Me-At-Home: I’m thinking of making a tuna noodle casserole.
Craig-At-Work: Ugh. If I never eat a tuna noodle casserole again for the rest of my life, that’d be ok.
Me-At-Home: Well I’ve never had one before so I’m going to make it, just for the sake of writing about it.
[Silence.]
Me-At-Home: Are you there? Hello? HELLO?
Craig-At-Work is no longer online.
There are certain advantages to growing up in a family where every meal is either eaten out or ordered in: those classic American dinner staples–lasagna, meatloaf, tuna noodle casserole–aren’t sources of dismay and torture, they’re not the psychological equivalent of prison food; no, they contain a patina of newness, of excitement, of Ozzy-and-Harriet all-American wholesome charm.
I think of lasagna as a special treat, a happy marriage of meat and cheese and tomato sauce. And meatloaf? I love it, I think it’s great. The less fancy it is, too, the better: I like it with a layer of glazed ketchup on top. No foofy reduction sauce for me, thank you very much.
But tuna noodle casserole? I only knew it as a punchline, the kind of thing you’d hear on an old episode of “Roseanne” (Darlene: “This chili doesn’t taste like anything.” Roseanne: “You’re lucky it’s not tuna noodle casserole.”) I’d somehow avoided tuna noodle casserole my entire life and now, finally, I was going to make it.
My reasons were two-fold: (1) times are hard (in case you haven’t noticed) so it would be cheap and plentiful; and (2) my friend Emily Farris wrote a book called “Casserole Crazy” that I really wanted to try.
I actually ran into Emily outside of Alchemy in Park Slope and I asked her which casserole I should make first. “Tuna noodle,” she said. “It’s a classic.”
After my discouraging chat with Craig, I headed to the store to buy the ingredients. I must admit that when I came home and spread them all out on the counter, they made me a little nervous:
It wasn’t so much the tuna or the noodles or even, really, the peas. It was the cream of mushroom soup and the potato chips. I felt like Michael Pollan and Mark Bittman were going to beat down my door and wonk me on the head.
Still, they might’ve shown restraint if they knew the one optional ingredient I skipped out on: Salsa Con Queso Cheez Whiz. As Emily writes, “This version of the classic tuna noodle casserole is my aunt Susie’s. Her secret ingredient is the Salsa Con Queso Cheez Whiz, but if you’re just not willing to go there, Parmesan will do just fine. Or skip the cheese altogether. A ‘real’ classic tuna noodle casserole doesn’t call for any cheese.”
The assembly and cooking of this casserole couldn’t be easier (which is why, I’m sure, it’s such an American staple.) Boil 1 bag (12-oz.) of egg noodles until just al dente. Mix the cooked noodles with 1 (16 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup (I had two cans b/c I could only find 10 oz. cans), 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, 2 (6 oz.) cans white albacore tuna drained, 1 large white onion (chopped), 1 16 oz. package frozen sweet peas and salt and pepper. Lay it all in a 2 1/2 to 3 quart casserole dish.
I have to make a confession here. In tasting this unbaked mixture to see if the seasoning was right, I REALLY liked it. Like way more than I should have. Somehow the uncooked tuna, the cold (still frozen) peas, the raw onion, the cheese and the just-cooked egg noodles worked some kind of magic in my mouth that let me ignore the gross, glue-like mushroom soup that was also mixed in there. If I ever reinvent a tuna noodle casserole (a subject I’ll get to again at the end of this post), a raw food version might not be out of the question!
Into the oven it went–375 F–for 35 to 40 minutes (until bubbling.)
Out it came and on went the coup de grâce: crushed potato chips (a few handfuls.)
Back into the oven it went for 10 minutes and it came out looking like you see in the picture at the very top.
Craig came home around now and he was not very happy. I convinced him that this’d be a better version than the one he grew up with (sorry Craig’s mom!) and prepped him a bowl:
Lucky for Craig’s mom, my fatal mistake was the one I bragged about earlier: leaving out the gooey cheese. “Where’s the cheese?” asked Craig, digging in.
“I used a little Parmesan,” I answered.
“Usually a casserole has lots of cheese.”
Indeed, this cheeseless casserole was kinda soulless and, for my tastes, a little too tunafishy. Someone on Twitter said they don’t like tuna noodle casserole because they don’t like “hot tuna.” After this first experience, I can relate: hot tuna just doesn’t hit the spot the way cold tuna does.
But Emily must be commended for making the casserole so approachable and so easy; her other recipes look way more up my alley, so I’m not done with Casserole Crazy, yet, no sirree. And in hard economic times, it can’t be denied that casseroles are a smart–almost inevitable–thing to make to feed a large family well or even just two people over the course of a week.
As for the tuna noodle noodle casserole, am I done with that? Here’s the thing: I’d like to take it upon myself to reinvent it, to rethink it, to come up with a better version. One thought is to build off the idea of a Salad Niçoise: what if you mixed the egg noodles with the tuna but then you added capers, anchovies, cherry tomatoes, slightly cooked haricot vert, and maybe even a hard boiled egg? What would glue it together? That’s the part I’m not sure about. But it might be worth tinkering with.
Or what if, as suggested earlier, you made a tuna noodle casserole pasta salad. So you cook penne instead of egg noodles and then add a can of tuna, barely cooked peas, chopped red onion, olive oil, and maybe some garlic and a splash of vinegar? I bet that’d be really good. And no potato chips or cream of mushroom soup required.
Perhaps I should have a contest: a Reinvent The Tuna Casserole Contest. What would the prize be? Maybe a copy of Emily’s book? Emily, are you reading this? Can we give your book away as a prize? Will you help judge?
Share your entries in the comments and let’s see what happens!
Hey Adam,A few things:1. I think the contest is a great idea! I will totally help judge and promote it.2. Maybe—if he’s ever willing to try “hot tuna” again—Craig would prefer my “Grown-Up Tuna Noodle?” Hold the Cheez Whiz and potato chips, add artichoke hearts and Parmesan cheese. (Page 120)3. If you ever do try Classic Tuna Noodle again, I suggest using the other crunchy topping option: French fried onions.4. And I hate to admit this one but the 16 oz. is a typo that the copy editor didn’t catch. Soup doesn’t come in 16 oz cans (that I know of) though more soup is not a bad thing. It will be fixed in the next printing.
My grandmother apparently made a particularly disgusting version of this and even uttering the words ‘tuna’ and ‘noodle’ in the same sentence could turn my Dad several shades of green, so there was NO tuna noodle casserole in my house growing up. I’ve always been a little curious about it, but I think I draw the line at potato chip topping.
Minus the cheese, chips, and onions… these are the ingredients my mom used when we were little. However, she would mix the mushroom soup, tuna, and peas together in a pot and boil egg noodles in another pot. We would pour the tuna mixture over our noodles (and season the whole thing with some salt and pepper), rather than have a “casserole.” Also, some nights, we would forgo the noodles and pour the tuna mixture over toast. However you make it, I strongly suggest peas!You could also drop the soup and make something more like mac and cheese, add the tuna, peas, some tomatoes… bake it all up… sprinkle bread crumb on top, broil… and eat!
I grew up without casseroles as well (hippie childhood, not takeout). Didn’t have meatloaf until my college dining hall—and I agree, it can be really good.The mom of the family I babysat for when I was a teenager would make tuna casserole. Hers calls for canned soup, a big glob of mayo, AND cheese—a ton of it! I still make the recipe every couple of years, it’s total retro comfort food. The key to loving it is that I didn’t eat it all the time while growing up.I’ve got another tuna noodle recipe as well. Count me in for the contest!
I admit I loved my mom’s tuna noodle casserole (which was made without onions, potato chips or cheese) and would not want to reinvent something already so good! It was one of the first things I learned how to cook by myself, and I could eat it all the time. If you liked it so much better before you baked it, perhaps you could eat the leftovers cold? That’s what I used to do (before I stopped eating fish). Yum yum.
My mom was always a great cook, so even when she made tuna casserole, it came out great – not very “cheesy” at all. We didn’t have it enough so that I get sick hearing about it. Interestingly enough, I made it twice, after not having it for over twenty years. Still good to me.
I love tuna noodle casserole! Though I usually make a lazy, unbaked version. As Wendy noted, making your own white sauce is absolutely worth the extra 5 minutes or so.Personally, adding good olives, garlic and a little hot sauce make me happy. Also, instead of mixing the cheese in, try a layer on top and let it broil up to toasty-brown, cheese-y goodness. Mmmm.
I often make a pasta bake, but I use a good, well flavoured marinara sauce and top it wil lots of cheese.I’ve tried store bought sauces, and to be honest, Home made is always better. If you make a huge batch of home made sauce and have some ready in the freezer this takes little time.This is am easy peasy dish that I make for when friends are over. I just cook a green vegetable or a crisp green salad and it’s a fab meal for a damp Wednesday when people pop in for dinner.
Here’s a recipe for a delicious-sounding tuna noodle casserole: http://haverchuk.blogspot.com/2005/07/tuna-casserole.htmlI nominate this for whatever the prize is!
I, too, did not grow up eating things like tuna noodle casserole. I love it. I made it for the first time a year or two ago, and yum. I put a lot more cheese in mine, leave out the chips in favor of breadcrumbs, and leave out the peas. If you have a contest I will make it again, I might just anyway!
I could do you one worse. A comfort food from my childhood that I still (secretly) enjoy: Velveeta shells and cheese w/a can of tuna mixed in.Tuna casserole reinvention contest sounds fun, should we post our recipe in the comments?also, if you want your raw food version of tuna noodle casserole would need sashimi-grade raw tuna…this could be interesting…
Well, since I’ve gone vegetarian I leave out the tuna and we eat this as a side dish… but my husband thought it was so much better than every other TNC that he started calling it “Super Tuna Noodle Casserole” to keep it separate from all the rest! (But it is still very much TNC!)Ingredients:1 14ish oz box Whole Wheat elbow noodles – cooked2 cans tuna* – regular tuna, packed in oil (I think it tastes better)2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded1 cup frozen peas1/4 cup butter1/4 cup flour2 cups milk1/2 teaspoon salt1/4 teaspoon pepper1 tablespoon parsleyLight dusting of bread crumbs (optional)Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in the flour and then slowly add the milk. Turn the heat to high. Allow it to come to a boil and allow to boil for one minute all while whisking continuously. Add in salt, pepper, parsley, peas, tuna & half the cheese.Mix with the noodles, dump into a casserole dish, top with the remaining cheese and the (optional) bread crumbs. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake at 425 until golden brown… usually another 10-15 minutes.*We used to make it with chicken sometimes too!
Grew up on tuna casserole. dont know the exact measurements mom used but they way I make it on occasion (about 2 times a year) is:1 chopped onion1/2 chopped bell pepper1 small jar of pimentos, drained well2 cans chunk light tuna (think albacore is bad in this recipe though it is what we eat at all other times)2 cans cream of mushroom soupmilk (dont measure but probably 1/3 cup or less)Boiled egg noodlesshredded extra sharp cheddarsaltpepperSaute the onion and bell pepper in a little butter until soft.In a baking dish mix soups, 1/2 of the cheese (probably around 1/2 cup) and milk until blended.stir in the onions, peppers, pimentos and tuna and noodles. Season with salt and pepperBake at 350 until it starts to bubble. Top with remaining cheddar cheese and put back in oven until bubbly and just slightly browned. Can mix in a few bread crumbs on the top if you like.I completely disagree with some of the other commentors. Do not waste your time with a white sauce for this dish. this is 50’s and 60’s quick, housewife food. If you are going to make a white sauce then make something else. This is all about the cheap ingredients 🙂
I’ve never had Tuna Noodle Casserole probably because I hated tuna as a kid and refused to eat it. The recipe you used does sound kind of disgusting to me (especially the chips and optional cheese whiz). Your other cold options sound really good especially the one with penne as I have never really liked egg noodles.
Oh dude. I’m sorry, but just say no to cream of mushroom soup! Friends don’t let friends top their casseroles with potato chips! (Can you tell my mom never made tuna noodle casserole either? But she did make a wonderful cold tuna pasta salad with mayo and celery which, oddly, I have never actually made myself.)Here is what I have learned from making tuna casserole on my own: Homemade white sauce, with or without onion/garlic/mustard/mushrooms/carrots/sharp cheddar cheese/a dash of red pepper flakes thrown in, and topped with seasoned bread crumbs is the way to go. Peas are key (or even chopped broccoli). Surely you could sub chicken for the tuna, or use less tuna so it’s not so tuna-y; you can also use elbow macaroni, penne or spiral pasta in place of egg noodles. It is also awesomely delicious eaten cold out of the fridge if you don’t like it hot.On a related note, have you ever tried Elise’s pasta with tuna and arugula? It’s a staple at our house, though we usually sub baby spinach for the arugula and add artichoke hearts and grated Locatelli. And it’s great eaten cold too.
There are already lots of “reinvented” recipes on the net; better than the ones made with canned soup. Make your own white sauce. I like to add some diced mushrooms, and finely diced carrots and celery too. I use lots of cheese. In addition to parmesan, I like to mix in some shredded cheddar, and add a topping of more cheddar at the end, along with a layer of bread crumbs instead of potato chips. I do love it with potato chips on the side, and a big tall ice-cold glass of milk.
i’m going to agree with alot of people and say go with the bechamel for the hot TNC. i’ll also agree with alot of people and say cold tuna pasta salad is good eatin (with mayo, celery etc).but i’ll have to disagree with alot of people’s contempt for cream of mushroom soup… i too, did not grow up with casseroles, because i wasn’t born in america (although i grew up here). about two years ago my co-workers were appalled to find out i’d never had green bean casserole, so i was forced to make it for our thanksgiving potluck “exactly like the recipe on the can!” and i love it! it’s a guilty pleasure but hey it’s mostly beans, right?…
This isn’t a reinvention, just a comment. My mom’s recipe for tuna noodle doesn’t involve any cream of mushroom soup, just a basic white sauce with plenty of cheese. I like it with lots of peas, especially the crunchy top layer. I think I’ll have to make some this week – yum!
I’ve never eaten tuna casserole either (to be honest, I was excited when you were talking about it on Twitter, and I’m disappointed that it didn’t really work out, because I was looking to pop my tuna casserole cherry [ew]), so take this with a big grain of salt, but what about swapping out the tuna for another fish, or substituting chicken? Thinking outside the box, or straight-up cheating? You decide.
I never had tuna noodle casserole growing up either, probably because my mom never made anything with “cream of _____” soups, and I still haven’t eaten it because I can’t get beyond the thought of warm tuna fish.We did have an awesome tuna pasta salad a lot growing up, especially in the summers. I still make it often, and it fits your criteria for cheap and easy. I think my mom made it when she didn’t want to turn on the stove or oven. Basically, it is any short pasta (I think she used those mini shells the most), tuna fish, light mayo, celery chopped, onions chopped, a splash of red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. You could add in cooked and cooled peas if you want, but I like to keep my veggies on the side.
I would love to re-invent this dish, I love tuna noodle casseroles! However, my husband won’t go near tuna with a 10 foot pole so a re-invention won’t happen. I think I once had a version with those french onion things (the crispy things) on top…yum!
I love tuna casserole. But instead of cream of mushroom, just make a bechamel sauce. I think Tom Valenti has a good recipe for TNC in his book Soups, Stews and One-pot meals.
I’m allergic to seafood, but I still remember tuna noodle casserole from my childhood. We never used canned cream of mushroom. Only a homemade white sauce with a little sherry and mustard for the flavor. If I could still eat seafood, I’d try making a shrimp or lobster stock to use in a Veloute Sauce with some dry sherry and a small dice of onion, celery and sweet bell peppers. Instead of potato chips I’d prob. use fresh bread crumbs mixed with parmesan, lemon peel, fresh ground pepper and sweet butter.
Tuna Noodle was a necessity, along with frozen fish sticks in my Catholic household during Lent. My mom still makes the stuff from time to time when she gets a craving, but I’m fairly certain a real white sauce would greatly improve it…good quality canned tuna would probably go a long way too.
I just can’t go there yet! That canned mushroom soup is just too gross.
The tuna casserole I grew up with was originally called “Tuna Lasagne” in the casserole cookbook my mother got for her wedding, even though it calls for the ever-present can of cream soup. She always made it with regular egg noodles (way easier to deal with), and the invention of pre-shredded mozzarella cheese definitely made it even easier.Mom never let us add potato chips, though. That was the sad part.
Adam, the best way to make a tuna noodle casserole, and I make it all the time, is to make a traditional mac and cheese, then once you have baked the mac and cheese, and right before serving, add the tuna. You can add frozen peas, or mixed vegetables to the mac and cheese before baking, but the key is to add the cold tuna to the hot mac and cheese. I agree with Craig, needs more cheese.
I made tuna casserole last night for supper! It’s not super duper great but it’s easy and it fills you up.Jackie- I’ve done (and sometimes still do) the same thing!! My husband loves it!
Also from a non-TNC eating childhood but my mother did fairly frequently make a version of the pasta salad with tuna which I remember as being quite good. I think there were also chickpeas in it. She was prone to using multicolored rotini so I imagine it was that al dente with canned chickpeas some version of a vinaigrette, red onions, some garlic and possibly cherry tomatoes so Daddy could have them and I could pick them out 😉 She has long done quick pasta salads where the pasta is just cooked then everything is immediately added and plated so you get the cold tuna/hot noodles you experienced when you were tasting for seasoning. My favorite has always been the mixture of just snipped from the garden herbs with al dente pasta, chickpeas, a very sweet vinaigrette and just fried Canadian bacon.
Shoot- forgot to add frozen peas to the baked version. Those are a must in any tuna casserole!
Didn’t mean to post anonymously there. I’m totally out about my extreme dislike of canned tuna.
Hi!!!My revision is SO good and cheap and can be used for multiple meals, but no one reading it would think so. It’s warm rice and garlicy spinach, with cold tuna. You have to have faith (just like when you mix a can of pea soup and a can of tomato soup with lots of curry powder. It’s good too.)!Lisa’s Tuna CasseroleIngredients:Two 6 oz pouches of tunaOne sleeve of saffron riceone tbs of olive oiltwo teaspoons of minced garlicone packet of steamable frozen spinachFirst you put the spinach in to steam in the microwave and take a mixing bowl and put the garlic in the bottom, letting it rest and the oils come out into the bowl (I use a metal mixing bowl for this, something about the metal makes the oil come out better)Then you make a packet of saffron rice with the olive oil (not butter).When the spinach is ready, put it in the bowl on top of the garlic and stir it through. The heat of the spinach will really make the spinach soak up the garliciness. Then add the warm rice and loosely stir them togther. Finally, open the tuna pouches (there shouldn’t be much water in them) and pour the tuna into the spinach/rice mixture and fold it together.It’s very good, in my opinion. And very simple. And very cheap.
I cooked on Fridays for about twenty people during my junior year at the very small Catholic college that I attended. I refused to serve fish sticks, so I did creative things with tuna instead. The best was to steam up a plentiful amount (say 4 cups)of broccoli, drain it, then saute a lot (3-5 cloves?) of minced garlic in 1/4 cup olive oil in a skillet then add the broccoli, get it sizzling and stir in three or four cans of tuna (any kind; I only had chunk light to work with, but white would probably be better). Then I would splash in more olive oil and lemon juice for good measure – maybe two tablespoons of each(capers are good here too, if you have them) – sprinkle with salt and pepper, saute that for a while and then in the hot pan mix in carefully however much al dente penne 8 cups dry boils up to. Pour that into a pan and sprinkle it liberally with parmesan and finally lay slices of mozzarella over all and pop it into the oven for say twenty minutes until hot and melty. The result is delicious, not overwhelmingly tuna-fishy and the whole affair takes about forty minutes. The nice thing, too, is that you can substitute other vegetables for broccoli or canned salmon for the tuna and still have good results.
My husband makes a really good tuna casserole from scratch. I make a super quick and easy one for weekday dinners:1. Make Mac ‘n Cheese – I choose Annie’s.2. Sautee onion and the tuna (salt & pepper to taste). (optional: add cream of mushroom here)3. Mix 1 & 2 together.4. Add frozen peas — they will melt on their own.Eat.No oven required.I have to say though, I do love tuna casserole. But I also like tuna melts — in other words you have to like warm tuna & melted cheese for any of these to work for you.On another note, I think I saw a cook on the Food Network, make a really fancy tuna casserole once — using fresh tuna & a bechamel sauce to fancy it up.
My my your stovetop is practically sparkling these days AG!I’m going to have to side with the “just say no to potato chips as a casserole topping” crowd, but the dish overall looked like a perfect example of tasty, easy-to-prepare comfort food.Hey, weren’t you a judge at a casserole contest awhile back? I guess you have the credentials 🙂 keep on keepin’ on Adam.Cheers!
Here is the easiest recipe for tuna casserole ever (and the one that Craig grew up eating). I make it probably once a week. I love it! You get big payoff for minimal effort and cost. In my mind, the worth of tuna casserole lies in its being fast, cheap, and easy. I don’t think it’s worth trying to gussie it up with expensive ingredients, or ingredients that take any preparation time whatsoever. It wouldn’t be worth it. It is still just tuna casserole, after all.Into a casserole dish, dump:1 c. elbow macaroni noodles (uncooked)1 can cream of mushroom soup1 can regular (not albacore) tuna (drained)1 c. milk1 c. grated cheddar cheeseMix together. Cover with more grated cheddar. Bake at 350 for an hour. (If you want, you can add frozen peas or chopped fresh broccoli 10 minutes before it’s done cooking). Done and done.(And to end on an especially depressing note…..women of childbearing age and especially pregnant women should not eat more than one can of tuna per week because of mercury. Even less if you use albacore tuna. It has higher mercury content.)
Before the food network existed, I produced a cable access cooking show that specialized in food with “questionable nutritional value.” Spam, cool whip, cheez whiz, jello (sweet AND savory…jello with canned beef, anyone?), “mock” apple pie (made with NO apples, but lots of Ritz crackers), “Elvis, the man and his food”…well, you get the picture. Tuna noodle casserole was a quarterly event, on the show. The most popular version resembled your casserole, minus the peas, onion, parmesan and potato chips. We always added a bag of shredded velveeta, and topped the casserole with crunched saltines drenched in butter. I even found academic research on “food habits and tuna noodle casserole toppings.” Apparently, your geographic region is defined by your topping preference (saltines, potato chips, bread crumbs, cheese, etc…) Ah yes, the good ol’ days…great post!
loved the post – I too didn’t have tuna casserole growing up, but Mom made others. I love me some casserole. I even make TC once a year or so.I hope Craig enjoyed the Ajax dish soap topping in addition to the potato chips, ha!
don’t like hot tuna either. yuk,can substitute cooked chicken for tuna
Oh Adam, I was so disappointed when I glimpsed those ingredients…..Tuna casserole doesn’t require a lot of cheese, but it requires simple, clean flavors and high-quality ingredients. I suspect others have said the same above, so I apologize in advance for any redundancy.Firstly, I really prefer to use the best canned tuna around. NOT the grey-looking dust in most brands (I’m looking at you, Chicken-of-the-Sea). Trader Joe’s has excellent tuna, for example. I think there are a lot of Italian brands that are nice, too. Canned tuna should be PINK, not grey. This will help that problem of the whole thing being too fishy, as this stuff tastes mild and, well… more like fish should taste.Secondly, that canned soup… blech. I know it’s “traditional” (i.e., part of the 1950s Wave of Convenience that swept our great nation), but it really shouldn’t be. A very simple bechamel does the trick nicely. I like to add lots of black pepper because the pop of it seems to suit the tuna well, and not too much salt (the tuna will be salty, even if you use unsalted canned tuna). Bechamels are easy and they give you a creamy sauce (yielding a gratin) without being too heavy or over-flavored, like that soup. They also don’t require an inordinate amount of cheese, but *can* accommodate it.Finally, the crunchy top is completely optional, but for god’s sake, potato chips?!I like peas in mine. I also like broccoli, or occasionally spinach (or even chard if I’m feeling healthy).Sorry this came out as more of a rant than a recipe… I really adore good tuna casserole, so I hate to see it done such an ill turn by the evil that is Cream of Mushroom Soup.
My Mom’s tuna noodle casserole was a mixture of not one, but TWO Campbell’s condensed soups (cream of mushroom and cream of celery), two cans of tuna and cooked egg noodles all mixed together with slices of American cheese on top.Yes, it’s gross. Yes, I crave it (sometimes…) anyway.
I grew up eating both tuna casserole and tuna macaroni salad, and both were dishes I LOVED as a kid. My blog is called Tuna Toast for a reason- I love TUNA in any form really. I agree with you on the canned soup….my parents never used it and I have to admit I’m not nuts about it.For a great tuna noodle salad- use penne, or even whole wheat penne, like you said, or corkscrew pasta. Boil until al dente, and then in a seperate bowl make the “dressing” with GOOD mayonnaise, a dollop of dijon mustard, a couple of tablespoons of relish (it is KEY!), a couple of tablespoons of capers and lots of pepper, plus salt to taste. As with any mayo dish, use it sparingly at first- you can always add more later depending on how creamy you like it. I perfer mine only slightly creamy. Anyway, toss the coooked pasta in a large bowl w/ this dressing, finely diced celery, red onion and chopped flat leaf parsley and even some finely diced tomatoes that you’ve squeezed the liquid out of. It’s fantastic. Honestly. I know- the mayo and relish scare you but it’s so great…..a wonderful summertime dinner.Now that said, you can take the SAME mixture minus the celery and tomato, add grated sharp cheddar cheese, pour it into a casserole dish, top with panko and dot that with butter, then bake. It’s great too, and you don’t need to use any canned soup.Hope you like these. It isn’t like anything else I ever cook in my adult life, but both are just really well-rounded dishes. I think you’ll like it. And Craig might too!:)TAG
Here is the easiest recipe for tuna casserole ever (and the one that Craig grew up eating). I make it probably once a week. I love it! You get big payoff for minimal effort and cost. In my mind, the worth of tuna casserole lies in its being fast, cheap, and easy. I don’t think it’s worth trying to gussie it up with expensive ingredients, or ingredients that take any preparation time whatsoever. It wouldn’t be worth it. It is still just tuna casserole, after all.Into a casserole dish, dump:1 c. elbow macaroni noodles (uncooked)1 can cream of mushroom soup1 can regular (not albacore) tuna (drained)1 c. milk1 c. grated cheddar cheeseMix together. Cover with more grated cheddar. Bake at 350 for an hour. (If you want, you can add frozen peas or chopped fresh broccoli 10 minutes before it’s done cooking). Done and done.(And to end on an especially depressing note…..women of childbearing age and especially pregnant women should not eat more than one can of tuna per week because of mercury. Even less if you use albacore tuna. It has higher mercury content.)
I love hot tunadare I say? Yes, it needs cheeseand all that’s creamy….Mmmmmm….. tuna noodle casserole…. it deserves a better reputation!!! But for some reason I can not see this comfort food at the restaurant of a top chef graduate.
I’m sure this isn’t true, but sometimes your posts make Craig seem like an ungrateful ass. I would be thrilled if my husband had tuna noodle casserole waiting for me when I got home.
The secret missing ingredient:Frank’s Red Hot SauceSeriously. Add a few dashes of hot sauce, to taste, and you got a whole new casserole experience!
My sister and I did most of the cooking when we were growing up and TNC was in our usual rotation. I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Worcestershire sauce which was always part of our recipe…never any cheese. I must say I can barely stand to think about it and I really don’t want to eat it!
I love seafood (LOVE), but I HATE HATE HATE canned tuna. Hot, cold, doesn’t matter. (Tuna sashimi on the other hand…yum!) Am I alone in this?
I make tuna noodle casserole all the time. I don’t use the cream of crap soup, but rather make my own white sauce and then add in sauted onions and mushrooms, canned peas, and diced water chenuts.I’ve also found that rinsing the tuna fish in a strainer under water makes it taste less fishy.
Whew…. LOTS of viewpoints on TNC. I’m with you Adam, better as a cold pasta salad.Though I did get a good laugh when I saw your pic of the ingredients… when exactly do you add the “lemon” Ajax dishwashing detergent? 🙂