Paisano: Fish Tale

I was probably 26 at the time. I wasn't married but was living with my then-future and now-past wife. She and I met when I was managing Pier 1 Imports in Knoxville and I hired her as assistant manager.

For some reason, Cindy set her sites on me and within six months of hiring her we were living together. I know. This stinks of ex post facto nepotism, but at one time each of my brothers also worked for me and there was never any doubt in my mind nor anyone else's that the personal connection meant my brothers and then Cindy were held to higher and not lower standards at work.

At any rate, because Cindy was my assistant our schedules were four hours out of sync on most days and we only ate together twice a week. On this particular day we worked the same hours and stopped at the store to get something to fix for supper and, as we wandered the aisles, I had one of those flashes when an entire recipe appeared in my mind at once. Of all things, it was for tuna casserole.

I'd certainly eaten my share of tuna casserole at home and at school when growing up and although I ate it I didn't particularly like it. I didn't like the pasty flavor cream of mushroom soup gave it. I didn't like the crumbled potato chips or French-fried onions that usually topped it. I didn't like the flavorless cheese that was typical -- if cheese was used at all. But for some reason I suddenly had an urge for tuna casserole and knew exactly how to correct the errors I'd seen in it before.

I quickly talked Cindy into it (for the most part, Cindy, who became a fine cook, learned cooking from me) and we bought all the ingredients. As I recall we spent around $12 dollars. That was a lot of money for us -- store management was essentially blue-collar work and didn’t pay worth a damn. In fact, our income that year, including the year-end bonus, was less than $15k. I called the dish "Rich Man's Tuna Casserole" and it was everything I'd hoped for. We almost ate it all that night.

The recipe below is essentially the same with the exception that originally I used Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup and now make my own. (Although, on rare occasions I still fall back on the canned stuff). Oddly enough, it costs very little more to make now than it did then, which is good because currently I make very little more now (all things considered) than I did then.

Tuna Casserole

Serves 6.

1 lb fresh mushrooms (I like a mixture of button, shitake, and portobello) -- sliced

3 5.5 oz cans tuna (packed in oil if possible) -- drained

1 1/2 c pimento-stuffed olives -- sliced in half cross-ways

2 tbsp + 3 tbsp unsalted butter

3 c chicken stock

1 tbsp ground mustard

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 c sour cream

8 oz sharp or extra-sharp cheddar -- shredded

3 - 4 oz  Asiago, Parmigiano, Romano, or Pecorino  -- shredded

12 oz extra-wide egg noodles

 

Heat oven to 400F. Drain tuna and slice olives.

 

Reduce stock in a medium saucepan over high heat to about 2 cups. Whisk in mustard, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Taste and adjust flavors. Set aside.

 

Place mushrooms in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and sprinkle generously with salt. Cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, with a wooden spatula. When mushrooms begin to brown and give up their liquid, add 2 tablespoons butter and continue cooking until mushrooms are well-browned.  Deglaze pan with 1/2 cup of stock and add mushrooms and deglazing liquid to remaining stock. Simmer 15 minutes.

 

In another medium saucepan melt 3 tablespoons of butter over medium-low heat. Add flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 3 - 4 minutes. Vigorously whisk in hot stock and cook, stirring, until thickened. Add cheddar, a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until melted. Whisk in sour cream.

 

In the meantime, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.

 

When sauce is done add it, tuna, and olives to noodles and mix thoroughly. Pour into a large casserole dish and sprinkle with shredded Parmigiano.

 

Bake until top is browned and crisp -- about 25 minutes.

This casserole is richly flavored with a crisp/chewy crust. The sour cream adds a tangy note and it doesn’t require a canned soup. (Although, as I said, that works. Just use it to replace the mushrooms and stock mixture -- keep the cheese and sour cream.)

In an alternate life, the Paisano is Kevin Weeks: a Gather food correspondent, personal chef, cooking teacher, and writer in Knoxville, Tennessee who spends too many hours on his feet, cooking. "Paisano" the column focuses on peasant dishes from around the world, Paisano the character is fictional. To read more of Kevin's writings or connect to him click here. His blog, Seriously Good, is read by 75,000 cooks a month. Kevin is also a consultant with ChefsLine.com.