Looking for a warming and hearty meal this winter? Look no further than this simple recipe.
After a long workday, conjuring up exciting meal choices can be a challenge, especially when you’re low on energy yet keen to avoid the same old dinner cycle. This is where the perfect addition to your menu comes in – a scrumptious tuna pasta bake.
Taking to TikTok under her handle @wholesomebysarah, Sarah Pound dished out her “winter warmer dinner” recipe for a creamy tuna broccoli mornay, or essentially what she calls “just another name for a creamy pasta bake, pretty much”.
Reflecting on her childhood, Sarah reminisced that this dish ranked at top spot for “favourite dinner as a kid”. With five children to feed, her mother was always on the quest for recipes that were “on the hunt for simple, quickish, and tasty meals” and this culinary creation ticked all the boxes.
The digital creator mentions that whipping up the white sauce might be the most “technical” part of the process – but reassured that everything else gets “thrown in”, promising that it’s bound to become a new favourite.
Not only is this recipe tantalisingly tasty, but it also boasts health benefits. As noted by BBC Good Food, tinned tuna is rich in Omega-3, serves as a high-quality protein source replete with heart disease-fighting amino acid taurine, and comes packed with vitamins and minerals like niacin and calcium – all while being low in fat.
The recipe is can cater up to six hungry people and you’ll need the following ingredients:
- 400g dried pasta
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 5 tablespoons plain flour
- 4 cups full fat milk
- 1 teaspoon powdered vegetable stock
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 400g can of sweetcorn, drained
- 425g tinned tuna in oil, drained
- 2 cups broccoli florets & stems, roughly chopped
- 1 cup of cheese, grated
- Optional breadcrumb topping – 30g of melted butter, 2/3 cup of panko breadcrumbs, 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese, a teaspoon of sea salt flakes, and two tablespoons of finely chopped parsley.
Method:
- Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees Celsius while you prepare your pasta.
- Start by boiling a pot of water, then cook the pasta for eight minutes. Sarah hints that a slightly undercooked pasta is fine as it will have another chance to simmer once in the oven.
- Drain, rinse with cool water, and set the pasta aside.
- Place the pot on medium heat, add the butter and let it melt.
- Add the minced garlic and whisk into the butter, before incorporating your flour bit by bit to make a roux
- Cook off the flour for a few minutes, then add one cup of milk to the pot and whisk for a minute until everything thickens
- Gradually pour in the rest of the milk, stirring as you go
- After about 10 minutes, stir in the vegetable stock, onion powder, Dijon mustard and grated parmesan and take off the heat
- Then it’s time to mix in the tuna, sweetcorn, broccoli, and the pre-cooked pasta. Stir the mixture thoroughly before transferring it into a baking dish.
- Next, lay on the cheese, and should you have opted for making the breadcrumb topping, scatter it across as well
- Cover in tin foil and bake for 25 minutes. You can then remove the foil, cook for a further 10 minutes and then enjoy!