Comfort Food: Tuna, Pasta and Cheese Gratin

Also known as Tuna Noodle Casserole.

I am a big fan of this kind of casserole, but since I rarely cook the same thing twice, I have long since lost my favorite version of this recipe. I was really excited to come across a close enough version from Elizabeth's Edible Experience {she adapted her version of the casserole from a William Sonoma recipe.

I don't know what makes me love this casserole so much. I think that it reminds me of Wilderness Trek...

Tuna, Pasta and Cheese Gratin
Adapted from Elizabeth's Edible Experience

Ingredients

• 1lb whole wheat rigatoni pasta
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 6 tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 tsp pepper
• ground nutmeg, to taste
• 8 oz tuna, packed in sunflower oil
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish.

Bring a large pot three-fourths full of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the package. Drain and transfer to a bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and celery in olive oil. Set aside. 

Melt 4 tbs of butter. Add the flour, stirring until fully incorporated, about 3 minutes; do not allow to brown.

Slowly add the milk and cream, whisking constantly.

Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally until smooth and thickened, about 5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Add the sauce to the macaroni and mix well.

Fold in the tuna, onions, celery and cheese.

Transfer to the prepared baking dish.

Top with the bread crumbs. Finally, cut the remaining 2 tbs of butter into bits and use to dot the top of the gratin.

Bake until bubbly and golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Tuna Noodle Casserole

There are very few recipes that I repeat but every once in awhile I get a craving for something that I really love to eat – maybe pregnancy is making me crave old comfort foods?

Tonight I decided to make a homestyle Tuna Noodle Casserole that I used to make when Daniel and I were newlyweds. It has tuna, elbow macaroni, shredded cheese, cream of celery soup, celery and onions. 

Sometime in the last 8+ years I have misplaced the recipe. Tonight I looked through all of my cookbooks and cooking magazines. Then I googled the ingredients that I remembered. All to no avail. So I made up the dish as I went.

Notes to self: In the future use less noodles and more tuna {recipe below takes this into account}. Also I found the dish to be a bit bland – either I used to cook more bland meals or I needed to add more salt and pepper. Maybe dry mustard would kick it up a notch?

I still can't believe my original recipe has disappeared – I guess that is a by product of rarely cooking the same thing twice. For now I will live with tweaking the recipe below in an effort to get back to the dish that I remember and love.

Homestyle Tuna Noodle Casserole

1/2 box whole wheat elbow macaroni

2 tuna packets {I prefer my tuna in sunflower oil}

3 ribs of celery, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

16 oz shredded cheddar cheese

1 can cream of celery soup

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 cup bread crumbs

salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 350º.

Cook pasta as directed.

Saute celery and onions in olive oil.

Drain pasta.

Add sauteed vegetables, cheese and soup.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Put entire mixture into oven-safe casserole dish.

Melt butter and mix in bread crumbs. 

Add bread crumb mixture to top of casserole.

Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly.

I think I used to add a cup of frozen peas to it as well. If you have any tips on the perfect tuna noodle casserole, please share. 

*Daniel gave this dish a 4.64/5 stars. We both thought it was bland compared to my usual cooking. Maybe instead of trying brand new recipes all of the time, I will experiment with old favorites to take them to the next level.