I think it would be fair to say that lately there has been a little sticker shock at the grocery store. The factors can be explained by higher wages, supply and demand disruptions caused by the pandemic, shipping costs and maybe a little bit of the fear of the unknown.
The clean sustainable options we all search for on our shelves also cost a “little” more to produce than the meals many of us grew up on. I gave myself a challenge, find a meal that was a staple to previous generations as a great weeknight meal but try to make it better by today’s standard of meal production.
Challenge accepted.
I pulled out a few of the older cookbooks my family recently gave me that were my grandmothers. Published 60-70 years ago, I thought they would be a good starting point. I thumbed through the books that were printed before chefs were celebrities and before each recipe had to include an Instagram-able photo. It was a time where cost and simplicity were everything and condensed soup was a common ingredient. The meals included a protein, a starch, a vegetable and if you were lucky a crunchy topping. (Let’s all be grateful for those crunchy toppings!)
As I perused, each book I kept seeing sections that highlighted my favorite food, seafood, but options weren’t as vast as we see today. There was definitely a frontrunner in these particular chapters: canned tuna. (Gasp!)
There wasn't just one tuna recipe; there were dozens. From salads to casseroles, a can of tuna was touted as the perfect economical protein for your family dinner. (There was even one recipe that had tuna and bananas!)
Tuna Talk
As we all know, the tuna industry has been riddled with complications. Whether it is concerns of mercury poisoning, overfishing and the gruesome thoughts of harming a dolphin, canned tuna has fallen out of our weekly repertoire of menu options.
We have forgotten that canned tuna does have a lot of nutritional benefits if eaten in moderation. It is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, protein and vitamin D. Plus, these days reputable tuna harvesters are guided by the MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) for instructions on how to fish responsibly. (American Tuna is my go-to brand.)
The tuna of yesteryear has changed and so has the iconic tuna casserole. It is no longer the 4-ingredient meal of tuna, pasta, soup and peas that is magically watery and dry all at the same time. Given a few cooking skills, I would say it is a great frugal pantry staple for those days you forget to plan dinner.
Stuffed Tuna Shell Casserole
Scroll down for a printable version of this recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 3-4 with a light salad as an accompaniment
9 jumbo pasta shells (Personally, I always make a few extras because there is always one that breaks.)
2 tablespoons of butter
8 ounces of chopped mushrooms
5 green onions (white bottoms and green tops separated)
2 stalks of chopped celery
1/4 cup sherry
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup milk
1/4-1/2 cup broth
Salt and Pepper
7 ounces of canned tuna, drained unless packed in natural oils*
2 tablespoons of fresh dill
Lemon zest
1 egg
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (split)
1/4 cup bread crumbs (or panko) (split)
1. Cook pasta shells per package instructions. Rinse with cold water, drain and set aside. (They will also be cooked in the oven.) If you are a tuna casserole purist, you can still make this recipe with egg noodles or your pasta of choice. Reserve a little of the pasta water.
2. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Cook mushrooms until they start to brown and they release their natural “juice,” about 5 minutes.
3. Add in celery and the white part of the green onion and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Remove a generous spoonful and set it aside in a medium bowl.
5. Sprinkle with flour and cook a couple of minutes until you smell a little bit of nuttiness.
6. Deglaze the pan with the sherry. (If you don’t like the taste of sherry, any basic white wine will do just fine.)
7. Slowly whisk in the milk over low heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
8. If you find your soup to be too thick, you can thin it down either with a little of the pasta water or add a little broth until you get your desired consistency.
9. In the medium bowl you added the sautéed spoonful mushroom/celery, add the tuna, egg, dill, lemon zest, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese and 2 Tablespoons of the breadcrumbs. Mix, but don’t overmix.
10. Evenly fill the cooked jumbo shells.
11. Take an 8 x 8 casserole dish (the prettier the dish the better) and spread a layer of your “mushroom soup” on the bottom.
12. Place the shells side by side.
13. Cover with the mushroom sauce.
14. Mix the remainder of the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
15. Sprinkle on top and cover with foil.
16. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. It should be bubbly. Broil for a couple minutes to get that comfort food brown topping that we all love to eat.
17. Serve two shells on a plate with a small salad and a slice of lemon.
*Tuna in water or tuna in oil? I think that is a personal preference. Look on your label to see what is added to the can of tuna. Tuna in oil is almost always higher calorically. This is one of those times where less is more, with the exception of brands like American Tuna. They pack the steaks raw and pressure cook the cans. When you open the can, the oil that surrounds the tuna is the natural oil from the fish and can be mixed back in.
Remember if you don’t have a pretty casserole dish, The Chopping Block at the Merchandise Mart is having a huge sale. (40% off everything + 75% off holiday merchandise, this excludes wine/spirits, knives and Vitamix. See hours here.)
Or, join in on the Hands on Culinary Concept Class on Seafood Cookery on Saturday, March 26 at 11am (just 1 spot left!), where you can learn some fishy fun facts to carry through the next 50 years.
We also have two upcoming virtual cooking classes featuring fish:
Stuffed Tuna Shell Casserole
Ingredients
- 9 jumbo pasta shells (Personally, I always make a few extras because there is always one that breaks.)
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 8 ounces of chopped mushrooms
- 5 green onions (white bottoms and green tops separated)
- 2 stalks of chopped celery
- 1/4 cup sherry
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4-1/2 cup broth
- Salt and Pepper
- 7 ounces of canned tuna, drained unless packed in natural oils*
- 2 tablespoons of fresh dill
- Lemon zest
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (split)
- 1/4 cup bread crumbs (or panko) (split)
Instructions
- Cook pasta shells per package instructions. Rinse with cold water, drain and set aside. (They will also be cooked in the oven.) If you are a tuna casserole purist, you can still make this recipe with egg noodles or your pasta of choice. Reserve a little of the pasta water.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Cook mushrooms until they start to brown and they release their natural “juice,” about 5 minutes.
- Add in celery and the white part of the green onion and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Remove a generous spoonful and set it aside in a medium bowl.
- Sprinkle with flour and cook a couple of minutes until you smell a little bit of nuttiness.
- Deglaze the pan with the sherry. (If you don’t like the taste of sherry, any basic white wine will do just fine.)
- Slowly whisk in the milk over low heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
- If you find your soup to be too thick, you can thin it down either with a little of the pasta water or add a little broth until you get your desired consistency.
- In the medium bowl you added the sautéed spoonful mushroom/celery, add the tuna, egg, dill, lemon zest, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan cheese and 2 Tablespoons of the breadcrumbs. Mix, but don’t overmix.
- Evenly fill the cooked jumbo shells.
- Take an 8 x 8 casserole dish (the prettier the dish the better) and spread a layer of your “mushroom soup” on the bottom.
- Place the shells side by side.
- Cover with the mushroom sauce.
- Mix the remainder of the bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.
- Sprinkle on top and cover with foil.
- Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. It should be bubbly. Broil for a couple minutes to get that comfort food brown topping that we all love to eat.
- Serve two shells on a plate with a small salad and a slice of lemon.
