2
Ingredients
800 ml mornay sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 celery sticks, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 cob corn, kernels removed
310 g can creamed corn
425 g can tuna in spring water, drained and crumbled
3 cups cooked pasta or rice
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper
200 g fresh bread crumbs grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup grated parmesan
Method:
1. Place the mornay sauce in a bowl and set aside.
2. heat a nonstick pan over medium heat, add the oil, onion and celery and cook without colouring for 3 minutes. add the capsicum and corn and cook for a further 2 minutes.remove from the heat and cool.
3. add the creamed corn to the mornay sauce, and mix with a wooden spoon. Then add the tuna, cooked pasta or rice, parsley, salt and pepper to taste and the cooled onion mixture, stir until well combined and place in a deep baking dish.
4. in a separate bowl, mix the bread crumbs, lemon zest and parmesan and mix until well combined. sprinkle over the tuna mixture and bake at 180ºc for 30 minutes.
HINTS AND TIPS:
* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, weight, liquid, spoon and cup measures, saucepan, bowls, baking dish and wooden spoon.
* The simplest version of tuna bake is to omit all the vegetables and just mix tuna, cooked pasta or rice and the mornay sauce, place in a baking dish, top the lot with grated cheese and bake for 20 minutes—for
teenagers and those who can’t be bothered, it can be that easy, if somewhat boring, so maybe try adding frozen peas and drained canned corn for colour.
* Easier again is to not make the cheese sauce, just mix the tuna, cooked pasta, 500 g sour cream and 250 g grated cheese together and bake.
* An alternative topping is to cut the crust off a bread stick or ciabatta and roughly chop into pieces, sprinkle over the top and bake.
* Try mashing 1 kg potatoes mixed with butter and cream and spreading over the filling before baking.
* If you don’t like tuna, then try crispy fried bacon; use 8 rashers, chopped and fried, for this recipe. If you don’t eat meat, omit it altogether. But without tuna it simply becomes a pasta bake of any sort.
* Use short pasta for this recipe—like orecchiette, shell, macaroni or fusilli.
* Try adding leftover roasted vegetables, chopped and stirred into the mixture before baking.
