I grew up with a tuna casserole recipe my mother made that I thought was absolutely fabulous. Over the years, Sue and I would toy around with not only attempting to duplicate it but, making it better. However, I never really wrote down what I was doing until a few years ago. Then, life got in the way and I lost my notes from that early tinkering. Earlier this year, I made a new batch of tuna casserole, tweaked it further by adding my “Craig’s Smokin’ Cajun Rub” and hand-wrote the ingredients and instructions (again) as I was making this latest version, which I thought came out “perfect” in regard to the endgame I was striving for. Of course, I left those notes lying around the kitchen (again) for a few days and they too disappeared. Having another hankering for the latest iteration of the tuna casserole that I totally knocked out of the park, I began inquiring with Sue if she had seen my hand-written recipe. Actually, I began pestering her for it and she (miraculously) found it… stuck in a bag that was next to one of my meat freezers (how ironic) in the mudroom. Other things that were also “lying around” the kitchen, for an extended time were also in the bag. I saved the recipe, went through the other contents, discarding most, many of which were of no value as of that time, and finally typed up the recipe. And now, I finally got around to posting it.
In my reverse-engineered version of my mother’s Tuna Casserole, I compliment the flavors of the tuna and cheese with my “Craig’s Smokin’ Cajun Rub” and some sliced mushrooms to add complexity to the flavor profile. You can use other Cajun rubs if you don’t have a copy of “Changing The Game” which is where you will find the four rubs I rely on to flavor many of our meals. But, your tuna casserole’s flavor profile may be somewhat different. And yes. I am partial to my rub. I also suggest you try using Ditalini pasta in place of elbow macaroni if you can get it in your neck of the woods. I feel the small Ditalini noodles enable me to savor the flavor of the tuna casserole that much more. This easy-to-do classic is something that changes things up for our family and plays a role in slipping some more fish into our diets to aid us in achieving a balance with meals from my harvested game. I hope you can find a place for it in your repertoire.
New and Improved Tuna Casserole
Ingredients
- 1.5 teaspoon salt
- 1 16-ounce box box of Ditalini pasta or elbow macaroni
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup dice yellow onion
- 1 12-ounce can sliced button mushrooms, drained
- 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk (NOT condensed milk)
- 1.5 tablespoons Craig’s Smokin’ Cajun Rub This recipe is on page 116 in Changing The Game. Or, you can try another brand of Cajun rub.
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 6-ounce cans solid white tuna in water, drained
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (FGBP)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° F.
- Boil water for the pasta in a large pot then add 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pasta.
- Melt the butter in a large non-stick pan and sauté the onion and mushrooms over medium-high heat with the remaining half-teaspoon of salt until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the evaporated milk, bringing the mixture to a soft boil. Stir in Craig’s Smokin’ Cajun Rub and 1.75 cups of the cheese. Stir until all of the cheese has melted. Fold in the tuna and FGBP and remove from heat.
- Drain the pasta when it is al dente and transfer it to an oven-safe casserole dish. Mix in the tuna and cheese mixture, cover tightly with foil and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the lid and top with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for another 2 to 3 minutes to melt the cheese and crisp up the top.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
