Tuna Casserole

Description

Tuna casserole is a hot baked main course made by combining canned tuna, boiled egg noodles, and green peas with a thick cream-based sauce, then covering everything with a crisp topping. Its specific origins are tied to the Pacific Northwest of the United States, where early printed recipes appeared in regional publications such as Sunset Magazine in 1930. The meal became widely popular in the 1950s because of the commercial food industry and because the ingredients were affordable, and the casserole could easily feed a whole family in about 30 minutes. The Campbell Soup Company heavily promoted recipes using its condensed Cream of Mushroom soup, introduced in 1934, as a quick, inexpensive binder for canned fish. Tuna casserole starts with boiling wide egg noodles until they are just tender, then draining them completely. Canned tuna packed in water or oil is drained and broken into flakes with a fork. The cooked noodles, flaked tuna, and a handful of frozen green peas are placed in a wide glass or ceramic baking dish. Condensed cream of mushroom soup, thinned slightly with whole milk, is folded into the dry ingredients to bind everything together. A thick layer of crushed potato chips is scattered across the entire surface. The casserole is then baked in a hot oven until the liquid inside bubbles vigorously, and the starchy topping turns deep golden brown. Ingredient substitutions often change the texture and flavor of the casserole. In a sharp cheddar cheese version, grated cheese is melted directly into the warm soup before baking. Many kitchens replace the potato chips with crushed butter crackers, toasted breadcrumbs, or canned fried onions for a sturdier crunch, or forgo the noodles in favor of rice. A scratch-made version skips the canned soup entirely and uses a classic butter-and-flour roux, mixed with whole milk and fresh, chopped mushrooms, to create the creamy binder. Other common additions include diced celery or chopped red pimentos, which add a sharper vegetable crunch to the filling. The casserole is served steaming hot in the same baking dish in which it was cooked. A large metal spoon is used to scoop the dense mixture of noodles, sauce, tuna, and topping onto individual plates. Because the dish is rich with cream sauce and starchy pasta, it is often paired with a sharply acidic side, usually a cold iceberg lettuce salad heavily dressed with vinegar, to cut through the heaviness of the fats. Tuna casserole can also be frozen and prepared later, making it a great convenience food and a potluck staple.