When you think of easy, budget- and family-friendly comfort food, tuna mornay would have to top the list. It takes a boring can of tuna and elevates it to really really good. This inviting version is made into a pasta bake. With a mega crunchy Corn Flake topping and juicy corn kernels, it is bound to satisfy everyone and fast become a weeknight staple.
How to make tuna mornay: key tips
The basis of a great tuna mornay is the silky cheesy sauce. To make the sauce, you start by adding some flour to the melted butter in the pan. At this point, it’s important to let the flour cook for a minute or so to get rid of any “raw” flour taste later. Gradually add the milk to the flour mixture, while whisking constantly so that the flour is evenly distributed throughout the milk and you don’t get a horribly lumpy sauce. Keep whisking and the sauce will soon thicken up beautifully.
While you’re doing all this, have your pot of pasta on so it is ready to drain and add to the cheesy sauce at about the same time as that finishes cooking.
Key ingredients in this tuna mornay
The type of tuna does matter in this dish. You can use tuna in oil, but be sure to drain it well so that your mornay doesn’t become an oil slick. You can also opt for tuna in springwater or tuna in brine. I personally prefer tuna in brine, as I think it provides a better overall flavour and you don’t need to add any extra salt to the sauce, just a good sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper. I also like to sneak in some cayenne pepper for flavour and a touch of heat.
Using full cream milk makes the sauce extra creamy, but skim milk will work, too.
Any short pasta is fine to use in this bake. This recipe uses shells, but you could use spirals, casarecce, penne, rigatoni, bow ties, macaroni, curls – or anything like these.
If, like me, you can’t get enough of pasta bakes, these flavour-packed pasta bake recipes will see you through. And here are 22 ways to use a can of tuna to solve any weeknight dinner dilemmas.
This recipe was originally submitted by eza80, a member of the Australia’s Best Recipe community. Introduction and additional recipe notes by Natasha Shaw.
Ingredients
- 2 tbs butter
- 1 onion finely chopped large
- 1/3 cup plain flour
- 300 ml full cream milk
- 300 ml water
- 1 cup tasty cheese grated
- 425 g Sirena canned tuna drained
- 125 g canned corn
- 1 pinch salt and pepper *to taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1/2 cup shells pasta shapes
- 1 cup cornflake crumbs
Method
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Step 1Add butter and onion to pot, and sauté onions until soft.
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Step 2Add flour and gradually add milk and water simultaneously until desired thickness of sauce is achieved.
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Step 3Add cheese to the sauce.
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Step 4Add tuna and corn.
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Step 5Add salt and pepper, lemon juice, nutmeg and parsley.
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Step 6Cook pasta and add to sauce.
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Step 7Pour sauce mixture into casserole dish, sprinkle corn flake crumbs on top and bake at 200C for approximately 20 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Is this tuna mornay recipe healthy?
Tuna mornay is a comfort food, and like many of its ilk is not super heathy. That being said, canned tuna is an excellent source of protein and is rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids as well as calcium, magnesium and B and D vitamins. It is also known to have anti-inflammatory properties. The sauce that binds this tuna mornay together is made on milk, not cream, which brings the calorie level down a bit as does using tuna in spring water not oil. If you wanted to make it healthier you could also bulk the mornay up with extra vegetables, like zucchini, peas and carrot . Cornflakes, although low in fat, are pretty high in sugar so you could always swap them for breadcrumbs.
What is the best tuna to use?
We are spoilt for choice these days when it comes to access to good quality tasty, canned tuna. Tuna in oil is tastier than in springwater but it’s up to you which one you use. It’s best to avoid the flavoured canned tuna as it may mess with the balance of this recipe. At a pinch you could experiment with using a flavour like lemon and pepper, but definitely avoid anything with soy sauce like teriyaki. Also, when adding the tuna to the sauce, break up the extra large chunks, but don’t overstir as you don’t want it to break down and become mushy.
Why did my sauce go lumpy?
Making the white sauce for this tuna mornay is a cinch, Once you know how to do it properly . The secret to a lump-free white sauce lies in how you add the milk. After add in the flour to the melted butter Make sure you stir constantly with a wooden spoon until rapid bubbles appear. Then, remove the pan from the heat and and swap the wooden spoon for a whisk. Slowly start adding the milk . Add a bit of the milk and whisk until smooth, then add another bit. When all the milk has been added, return to the heat. Then you cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and scraping the spoon into the edge of the pan to get any bits of flour that may have stuck, until the sauce is thick.
Are there variations on tuna mornay?
Tuna mornay is also popular in America where they refer to it as tuna casserole. This version uses a can of cream of mushroom (or asparagus) soup instead of the white sauce and some of them even use canned pineapple! The topping may be breadcrumbs, jazz crackers or potato chips. You could even make chicken mornay – using leftover roast chicken in the place of the tuna.
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