My great friend Phil and his wonderful girlfriend Lou recently moved to New Zealand from Northern Ireland, and I miss them both!
Phil recently commented on one of my other recipes that he’s short of recipes as they left their cookery books behind. This particular recipe of mine is one of his all time favourites, so I hope that by posting it, he can recreate it without too much trouble himself!
Tuna Pasta Bake- serves about 4 with some leftovers!
40g butter
c. 2 tbsp plain flour
c. 1 pint milk (you can mix a little cream in if you’re feeling decadent!)
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced or finely chopped
1 x 300g can sweetcorn, drained
1 x 250-300g can tuna in brine, drained well
1 average sized red bell pepper
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
200g mushrooms, sliced
More cheddar cheese than I want to think about- probably 250-300g, grated
c. 300g uncooked weight pasta of your choice- penne works well, as does fusilli
salt & pepper
paprika if liked
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Melt the butter in a large pan. Gently saute the onion and garlic for approx. 5 minutes until the onion is translucent.
2. Add the flour and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly. This should make a thick glossy paste. Add the milk in three stages as the sauce thickens, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. This will take around 8-10 minutes.
3. You can cook the pasta while you’re making the sauce!
4. Add the mushrooms, parsley, sweetcorn, tuna, red pepper, and paprika (if using). Cook for around 3-4 minutes.
5. Add two thirds of the cheese to the sauce. Once this has melted in, check seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Drain pasta well and add to the saucepan with your sauce. Combine well. Turn out into a shallow ovenproof dish (I like those long square pyrex dishes!). Sprinkle the remaining cheese over and bake for approx. 25 minutes. Serve with a nice green salad.
Hope you enjoy, Phil!!
