Less of a tuna bake more of a tuna lasagne

Fish baked in white sauce has been haunting me over the years, my mum used to always make a Jamie Oliver fish pie which I hated because of its generous layer of mashed potato. It had no bite to it just seafood and mush. Sorry Mum… It was just a flavour and texture I could never get my head around. Although flicking through the same Jamie Oliver cookbook many years later (published well before 15minute meals) I found a seafood lasagne. This recipe is like nothing you’ve ever had. It is creamy and sweet from the prawns and scallops which is then offset by fresh cherry tomatoes that provide acidity and freshness. I’ve made it over the years for friends and it is such a crowd favourite perfect for cold Friday nights or long Sunday lunches. Moving to more recently I was lucky enough to travel to Venice where I came across a lasagne made from a white sauce with Baccala which is salted cod. It was just a simple white sauce with the Baccala layered by sheets of pasta.

It brings us to this lasange, made from two large cans of tuna and herbs it costs about $30 to make and feeds about 6 people with a salad (I would just serve with rocket). A lot of the ingredients you might already have on hand which is the beauty of this recipe. It then becomes perfect for cold Friday nights or long Sunday lunches because this recipe is accessible, which is what food and cooking should always be… accessible.

 A note on this Jamie Oliver book - it is actually iconic and truly a lost text. It is the best ever with so many very good and basic recipes with a lot of practical tips.

 Ingredients

2x 250g tins of tuna

1 stick of celery finely chopped

½ a red onion finely chopped

1 carrot finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

3 tbsp plain flour

1 cube fish stock

500ml water

1 cup milk

Rind of parmesan (optional)

3 tbsp capers and their juice

Handful of dill, chives and parsley

4 slices stale bread of 350g of breadcrumbs (panko are good)

A grating of cheddar cheese

2 tbsp of fennel seeds

1 box of lasagne sheets – preferably egg based dried ones or fresh. Anything else takes too long and sucks all the sauce.

Method

Pre heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Chop the onion, carrot and celery.

Heat a saucepan on a medium heat with the oil from one tuna can.

Add the onion, carrot and celery to the pan with oil until the onion is transparent.

Add the garlic and keep stirring to avoid too much browning.

Add in the stock cube, water, milk and parmesan rind bringing it to the boil.

Turn off heat immediately once the mixture has come to boil.

Remove parmesan rind and allow the stock to cool while you get started on the white sauce.

Start the white sauce in another saucepan using the oil from the second tin of tuna and add in the flour.

Stir continuously until a paste forms – this is called a roux. Continue cooking for 2 mins.

Add the infused stock to the roux gradually, stirring as you go, until you get a smooth sauce. Cook for 5-10 mins, stirring continuously, until the sauce has thickened.

Take the white sauce off the heat and set aside while you prepare the tuna mix.

Finely chop all the herbs and add to a bowl with the tuna and capers/caper juice, mixing it altogether with your hands.

Gently stir the tuna mixture into the white sauce. If the sauce looks thick add a little bit of milk or water in because the pasta will absorb so much liquid it is good to have extra.

Add a ladle of the sauce to the base of the a rectangle dish (30cm X 20cm roughly) and layer the pasta until you fill the dish or have used all of the sauce.

Blitz the breadcrumbs and place them on top the tuna mix grating some cheddar over the top.

Sprinkle the fennel seeds on top.

Cover with a-foil and bake for 30 minutes covered – Check the liquid level if it is looking dry add a cup of water to the corners and cover again. Bake for another 10 minutes.

Take the foil off and bake for a further 5 – 10 minutes to brown the breadcrumbs.