Mom’s Tuna Casserole

Ease of Preparation: Easy

Yield: 4-6 servings

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2-3 medium yellow onions, peeled and finely diced
• 2-3 stalks of celery, finely diced
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 30g (1/4 cup) all-purpose flour
• 500mL (2 cups) 2% milk
• Celery salt, to taste
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• 3 170g cans flaked white tuna, drained
• 340g egg noodles
• 290g (2 cups) frozen peas
• 135g (2/3 cup) panko or regular bread crumbs
• 67g (1/3 cup) finely grated Parmesan cheese
• Extra-virgin olive oil, as needed

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220 C). Set a rack in the middle of the oven.
• In a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, heat a film of canola oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and a large pinch of salt and sweat for 5-7 minutes, until softened and translucent.
• Add the celery and continue cooking 4-5 minutes more, until the celery has begun to soften.
• Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir together with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook until the raw flour aroma is gone, 3-4 minutes.
• Slowly pour in the milk, stirring the whole time and gradually bring the mixture up to a simmer. It will thicken as it simmers, so stir often to prevent scorching on the bottom. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil.
• Reduce the heat under the sauce to low and cook the egg noodles until just barely al dente, maybe 2 minutes shy of the package directions. Drain them.
• Add the tuna to the sauce, stir to combine and shut the heat off under the pot. Dump the egg noodles in, stirring to combine everything evenly. Add the peas. The residual heat from everything else will be enough to thaw them gently. Season the mixture to taste with salt, black pepper, celery salt and cayenne pepper.
• Grease an oven-proof casserole dish with olive oil and spread your casserole mixture evenly into it.
• In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan, drizzling enough olive oil into the mix so that it looks like wet sand when mixed with a fork. Spread the topping evenly over the casserole.
• Bake uncovered for 20 minutes, rotating the dish halfway through cooking to ensure even browning.
• Allow to cool for about 15 minutes before cracking into this bad boi.

All recipes for Zack Kinda Cooks were developed and written by Chef Zachary Resnick