My Thoughts and Delicious Canned Tuna Recipes
I’m old enough to remember when most schools in the U. S. regardless of their affiliation, served fish on Fridays in deference to any Catholics in the student body or on the faculty. Occasionally, Mac & Cheese was substituted, but the regular meal was what seemed to be a universal recipe of tasteless, rather gluey Tuna Noodle Casserole and the only option was loaves of white bread and stacks of American cheese slices, no mustard offered. To this day, despite its upgrading into a glamorous “comfort food” I’m not a fan of Mac & Cheese, and it was years before the thought of hot canned tuna didn’t make me shudder.
That all changed one snowy day when a neighbor suggested a play date for the kids and offered to make lunch if others brought salad and dessert. When she excused herself to turn on the oven for the Tuna Noodle Casserole, I braced myself, but it was delicious! Despite the fact that the recipe was based on canned soup, which I avoid because of the chemicals and sodium, preferring to cook from scratch, as well as Chinese fried noodles, another generally frowned upon ingredient, I have made this dish and enjoyed it many times. The recipe is below.
Over the years I’ve found other canned tuna recipes that interested me, mainly cold. However, recently, between the long winter, and the concern over rising food prices, I’ve turned my attention to hot ones. Canned tuna is a very interesting food source. It too has been affected by the economy. A can now holds 5 ½ oz. rather than the 7 oz.it held originally or even the 6 oz. it did five years ago, and the price is much higher. The thought that chunk light at 10/$10 is a good sale price would have been laughed at just a few years ago. If you consider that, at the current weight, 3 cans equal a pound, the price is right up there with fresh seafood and red meat.
The thing that still makes canned tuna an economical, important food source is that it mixes well with other ingredients, once combined it goes a long way and the its protein value is equaled only by red meat. Of course one can is considered to cover at least two people in most recipes, which averages out to about half the recommended protein amount per adult serving, but adding beans, eggs or even dairy can make up the difference.
With spring now hinting it might actually arrive, warm weather on the horizon and food costs still expected to rise, I decided to review all my tuna recipes and pick my favorite ones to share, that you all might enjoy them throughout the coming year. There’s a claim that tuna salad is the one dish that is personalized in every household in America, so I’ll skip that and concentrate on more diverse dishes. Here’s hoping these recipes give you some enjoyable meals while helping you save at the market.
TUNA NOODLE CASSEROLE: Serves 3- 4
(1) @ 6 oz. can solid white tuna – drained
(1) 10 oz. can Campbell’s Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup Chinese fried noodles + ¼ cup
¼ cup water
1 small onion – diced
1 cup celery – diced
Mix the soup, water, celery and onions together. Gently fold in the tuna, then the noodles, breaking as little as possible. Don’t mix ahead; the noodles become soggy.* Pour into a lightly greased 1 ½ qt. ovenproof casserole. Top with the reserved noodles and place in a preheated 375 deg. oven. Bake for 20 min. until bubbling. Serve hot at once.
*Optionally to keep the noodles crisper, half the tuna mix can be put in the dish, then the cup of noodles in one layer, then the rest of the tuna, with the reserved 1/3 cup noodles on top. This produces a more fluid consistency. The first is the original recipe direction.
TUNA WITH OLIVE SAUCE for PASTA: Serves 4
(1) 6 oz. can solid white tuna – drained
1 green bell pepper in large dice
1 small onion halved then quartered
2 garlic cloves diced or 1 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup diced fresh tomatoes or equal amount of canned diced with juice reserved
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
3 Tbs. oil
12 sliced green olives
½ tsp. ground fennel seeds
Salt to taste
1 lb. spaghetti or better a large shaped pasta- rotini, shells, orecchiette or penne.
Microwave the pepper and onion in the oil on high for 2 min. Add to a pan with the other ingredients and simmer over medium heat for about 10 min. adding tomato juice every few minutes and cooking down. Meanwhile cook pasta al dente and add about ¼ cup pasta water to sauce. Continue cooking until sauce thickens a bit. Toss pasta in the warm pot with the sauce. Garnish with Italian parsley. Cheese is optional.
WHITE BEAN and TUNA SALAD: Serves 4
(1) 6 oz. can solid white tuna – drained
(1) 15 oz. can white beans – navy, or cannellini
1 Tbs. oil
1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar
1Tbs. dried basil (3Tbs. fresh chopped) + more for garnish
2 Tbs. lemon juice
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic – mashed OR ¼ tsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste
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Gently toss first 2 ingredients together. Combine everything but the lettuce to make the dressing. and mix with tuna and beans. Allow to marinate about 1 hour. Line 4 plates with the lettuce and divide salad among them. Garnish with dried basil or fresh basil. This salad can be served chilled, but the flavors are better if it’s allowed to warm close to room temperature.
SALAD NICOISE: Serves 6 – 8
1 lb. fresh whole or cut green beans – frozen is fine
6-8 small new potatoes – halved if larger – keep size uniform-canned will do – drained
(2) 6 oz. cans solid white tuna in water – drained
(1) 5 ¾ oz. can pitted black olives
4 hard-boiled eggs – quartered
4 Roma or small tomatoes – quartered- OR 1 pt. cherry or grape tomatoes
Bibb lettuce or Romaine
Optional add-ons – (1) 15 oz. can of pickled beets and/or 6-8 anchovy fillets
Cook the beans, and potatoes if raw, until crisp tender. A special flavor is added if they are marinated in a little white wine for a few hours.
Line a large platter with the lettuce leaves. Gently fork separate the tuna chunks and mound them at 6 O’clock on the plate. Mound the potatoes at 12 and decoratively distribute the other ingredients separately in mounds evenly around the plate, except the anchovies. If using, they should be laid across the tuna. The mounds can be pie shaped wedges, pointing to the center, or the center can be filled with fresh herbs or chopped lettuce pieces. If using the beets, the black olives can be piled in the center. The point is to arrange the plate as decoratively as possible but have it appear as a miniature buffet, with each of the ingredients presented individually for ease of self serving.
Serve with the dressing created for this salad, below.
Nicoise Dressing: Serves 6- 8
4Tbs. minced shallots – or mild onions
2 Tbs. dry mustard – 4 of Dijon can be used
5 drops of hot sauce
5Tbs red wine vinegar
3Tbs fresh lemon juice – 2 tsp. of concentrated will do
2 ½ cups salad oil.
1 Tbs. dried Tarragon or to taste
Mix the ingredients well and allow to meld for several hours. Drizzle a little over the Tuna, and serve the rest on the side
CREAMY TUNA MOLD: Serves 8-10
3 envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin – divided
1 cup water – divided into two half cups
1 ½ cups small curd cottage cheese
¼ cup finely diced green bell pepper
2 Tbs. finely diced or grated onion
Salt and pepper
(2) 5 ½ oz. cans chunk white tuna – drained
½ cup finely diced celery
2 Tbs. lemon juice
¾ cup mayonnaise
2 quart solid mold
LAYER I
Soak 1 ½ envelope of gelatin with 2 Tbs. cold water until it expands, then dissolve in remainder of ½ cup water boiling. Mix with the cheese, peppers, onion salt and pepper. Pout into the bottom of the mold and chill.
LAYER II
Repeat the above process with the remainder of the gelatin and water. Mix with celery, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and tuna. Pour into the mold on top of layer I. Chill until firm, several hours or overnight. Unmold be dipping in hot water to the count of 10 and inverting onto a serving plate. Chill again to firm. Cut in slices to serve.
