Bell bottoms, beads, The Beatles, back to the future tuna mornay! Actually, creamy tuna mornay (tuna casserole in the US) dates back even further than the sixties. A version was around before WWII, but it came into its own afterwards, because it could be made (and still is) with pantry staples.
Mornay is a French sauce of béchamel (white sauce made with butter, flour, milk), with added cheese (Gruyère, Emmental, cheddar or parmesan). A few decades back, cooks used ingredients such as tinned mushroom soup. The “mornay” part may, or may not, have been named after 17th century French Philippe duc de Mornay. The internet is undecided on this, but apparently béchamel wasn’t around then so, who knows🤷♀️
The other main ingredient is tuna, which brings us to the future. May 2 is World Tuna Day. While I had visions of fishy festivals, it’s actually about raising awareness of sustainability. If you’re interested to know what you should be looking for when shopping for tinned tuna, Greenpeace regularly updates its info: https://www.greenpeace.org.au/article/how-to-find-the-best-canned-tuna-our-guide/
Update on back to the future tuna mornay!
I’ve since made a gluten free version by substituting the flour with a gluten-free flour (plain rice flour works well as a thickening agent), and the breadcrumbs with smashed up gluten-free cornflakes (nearly half a 270g box). I used lactose free milk, though not lactose free butter or cheese, because yellow cheese is tolerated in my house – milk, not so much. I threw in an enormous handful of parsley. And you know what, we all now prefer the cornflake version! So, even if you don’t need gluten free, cornflakes make a great topping. I keep going back to it, but texture is so important. Mr Crunchy is the best.
“Now I will pay attention to my work and then I must eat the tuna so that I will not have a failure of strength.”
-Ernest Hemingway, The old man and the Sea
Back To The Future Tuna Mornay
Ingredients
- 425 g tinned tuna, drained
- 1 onion, diced
- 60 g butter, plus a little extra to dollop on top of crumb
- 400 ml milk
- ⅔ cup grated cheese, your pick, with added parmesan for sprinkling (optional)
- 185 g tinned corn kernels, drained
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tbsp plain flour (or gluten free/rice flour)
- 1 garlic clove, minced (optional)
- 1.5 bread rolls fresh, chopped small, or dried breadcrumbs enough to cover the top (or equivalent gluten free cornflakes smashed up)
- salt, pepper
- herbs if you wish – big handful of parsley makes a lot of difference
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 215℃/420℉.
- Fry onion in butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until soft, stirring constantly. Add garlic if using.
- Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon constantly, coating the onion for about a minute or until bubbling.
- Pour in milk, stirring constantly to ensure there are no lumps. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens and boils.(I recently had to adjust to an induction cooktop after using gas, and had a few "hiccups". I now find it safest to take it low and slow at first, adjusting the heat if needs be once the milk is well and truly combined.)
- Lower heat and add peas (no need to thaw), corn and cheese until it melts. Add tuna and break up any lumps, making sure it's well through the mix. Season or add herbs to taste.
- At this point you can eat it if you don't want the carbs or….… put it into baking dish and sprinkle breadcrumbs on top so mix is well covered. Put a few dollops of butter on top and sprinkle with Parmesan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden and crisp.
[…] I present … the colours of Italy in a simple, filling bake! This lovely recipe is a riff off tuna mornay. Same deal — ingredients in béchamel (white) sauce (butter, flour, milk), with a quick, browning […]