Cheesy Tuna Pasta Casserole Recipe

It is often said that fish and cheese don’t go well together. Mornay is mentioned is an exception. This cheese tuna casserole is another exception. The dish is hearty and delicious, great for cold weather.

The list of ingredients below is really long. Don’t get alarmed or put off by. And the recipe is quite simple, even though it may seem complex. There are a number of processes involved but all simple and well worth the effort.

I will upload photos of the dish in a week when I have access to my camera.

Adopted from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures

Ingredients

12 oz. dry pasta (any pasta will do)

1 cup onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

3 med carrots, diced

2 cups mushrooms, sliced

1 cup frozen peas

1 clove garlic, minced

½ teaspoon dried thyme

6 tablespoon unsalted butter

¼ cup + 2 tablespoon flour

4 cups milk

1 cup low sodium, nonfat chicken broth

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more or less to your liking)

½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper

2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

2-5 oz. cans of tuna, drained and flaked

15 crackers, crushed

1 tablespoon oil

Method

1.      Cook the pasta according to package directions, but two minutes less than the recommended cooking time. Drain and set aside.

2.      In a large nonstick pan over medium high heat, add one tablespoon oil and saute onion, celery, and carrots until soft. Add garlic and mushrooms and cook for a minute.

3.      Add frozen peas and thyme, take off heat and set aside.

4.      To make the sauce, melt butter on medium high heat in a saucepan. Add flour and whisk. Cook for one minute while whisking. Slowly add milk while continuing to whisk. Add chicken broth. Cook until it thickens, stirring constantly. Take off heat and season with salt and pepper.

5.      Add mustard and cheese to the sauce and mix well. Add tuna, pasta and vegetables and stir to combine.

6.      Pour the mixture in a greased 13" x 9" baking pan. Sprinkle with crushed crackers. Bake at 190°C/375°F for about 30 minutes or until the casserole is hot and bubbly. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Sumac Crusted Crispy Skin Salmon Recipe

Sumac crusted salmon

Sumac is a spice common to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. It has a slight lemony tangy flavor, hence it goes well with fish and other dishes that are complimentary to lemon.

Sumac crusted salmon is a very simple but flavourful and healthy dish. Its easy to prepare. I served it with coriander onion mashed potato.

Ingredients

Salmon Fillets

Sumac

Oil

Salt

Method

1.      Score the skin of the salmon fillets and season both sides generously with sumac. Chill for at least an hour (optional but recommended)

2.      Place a non stick frying pan over medium heat and add about a table of oil

3.      Season the salmon with salt on both sides and place skin side down in the frying pan

4.      Cook until the salmon is 75% cooked and the skin is crispy. The side of the salmon will start to change color. Once about 75% of one side has changed color flip and salmon and cook on the other side until the salmon is cooked to your preference. This shouldn’t take more than a few minutes otherwise the salmon will be overcooked

Sumac crusted salmon

Filo Pastry Salmon Quiche/Pie Recipe

Filo Pastry Salmon Quiche/Pie

This is quite an easy but delicious dish using filo pastry. I don’t have a good night vision on my camera so the photo turned out OK. Fortunately it tasted a lot better than it looks.

Tip: cover the filo pastry with a damp towel while working to stop it from drying out

Adopted from Good to Know Recipes

Ingredients

500g smoked salmon, cut into pieces

200ml crème fraîche

150g cream cheese

2 large eggs

Salt and ground black pepper

6-8 sheets filo pastry

30g butter, melted

Method

1.      Heat oven to 200°C/390°F and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up.

2.      Beat together the crème fraîche, cream cheese, eggs, salt and pepper until smooth.

4.      Layer a baking tin with 4 sheets of pastry, brushing a little melted butter on each layer. Allow the edges to overlap the tin slightly.

5.      Place fish in pastry case and pour cream cheese mixture over. Fold overhanging edges of pastry into the centre.

6.      Optional: brush a little butter over another 1-2 sheets filo pastry and then tear pastry into shreds and arrange it on the top of pie, so that it’s scrunched up slightly.

7.      Place baking tin on the heated baking sheet, and bake in centre of oven for 25-30 mins, or until pastry is crisp and golden. Remove from oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 10-15 mins before removing.

Easy Smoked Fish Cake Recipe

Smoked Fish Cake

This was my first attempt at making fish cakes. I never realised it was so easy to make.

The original recipe suggested pureeing the fish, but I preferred chunky bits. There is no binding agent like eggs so the cakes are quite delicate. You will not be able to hold it in your hands, let alone use it as a hockey puck. But its delicious when eaten with a fork.

Recipe source: Cook Book of Trial and Error

Ingredients

350g peeled potatoes

75 ml milk

350g smoked fish

15 ml lemon juice

5 ml dijon mustard

115 g breadcrumbs

Salt and black pepper to taste

 Directions

1.      Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain, mash with milk and season to taste.

2.      Dice the smoked fish. Add it to the mashed potato, along with the lemon juice and mustard. Mix well.

3.      Shape the mixture into fish cakes and coat with crumbs. Chill for about 30 minutes

4.      Shallow fry the fish cakes until golden brown on each side

Herring Omelet Recipe

Herring Omelet

Nice, easy and nutritious dish. Of all the fishes, herring has one of the highest  levels of omega 3. Omega 3 is good for your brains. 

Even though herring is one of the healthier fishes, it is quite reasonably priced. Good things don't necessarily have to be the most expensive all the time. The less awareness there is of herring and its benefits, the better it is for us!

Herring Omelet

Ingredients

About 100 grams herring, fresh or smoked, diced into cm squares

2 eggs, beaten

¼ onion, finely diced

Oil

Directions

1. Add oil to non-stick frying pan and place over medium high heat
2. Add onions and cook until tender. Reduce heat to medium
3. Mix together eggs and herring, add to frying pan and cook until the bottom starts to turn brown. Turn over and cook the other side.
4. Add salt and pepper to taste

Crème Fraiche Fish Mousse Sauce with Pasta Recipe

Cremé Friache Fish Sauce with Pasta

This is a really quick and easy dish. The fish is pureed before serving and this completely elevates the taste.  It is surprisingly different, and arguably tastier, than having 'unpureed' fish with crème fraiche or smetana. I knew pureed fish would taste different but I didn't expect it to be this different.   

Some people may scream at the thought of pureeing an expensive piece of fish. But we puree fish in our mouth, so I had no issues with pureeing it before eating. 

I’ve tried this dish with salmon, canned tuna and herring. My favourite is salmon, followed by canned tuna and herring taking last spot, unfortunately. Herring is still delicious, though not as delicious as salmon or tuna. 

Ingredients

About 120 grams finely diced fish (such as salmon or herring) or small can of tuna (185 grams)

¼ cup smetana or creme fraiche or thick yogurt

¼ onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon oil
Lemon juice (optional)

Directions

1. Heat saucepan over medium heat and sauté onions until they turn soft
2. Add garlic, sauté for couple of minutes. Don’t let it turn brown
3. Add fish, salt and pepper and cook until the fish is done. Add lemon (optional). Cremé fraiche is already tangy so you may not need lemon.
4. Add smetana and puree the mixture. I used a hand held stick blender

Smetana Fish Sauce with Pasta

Salmon with Herbed Sourcream Sauce Recipe

Salmon with Herbed Sourcream Sauce

This simple one pot dish can be ready to serve in 5-10 minutes. It doesn't get much easier than this. I cut the salmon into small pieces before cooking so the salmon cooked within minutes.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 salmon fillet (optional: cut into smaller pieces)

½ cup sour cream

½ teaspoon mixed herb (or substitute with dill if you prefer)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 small clove of garlic, minced

Salt and pepper

Chili powder/flakes (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat
2. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Add garlic and salmon to frying pan (skin side down if using whole fillet)
3. Cook for a few minutes, until the salmon is just done (if using whole fillet, cook skin side down first for 4-5 minutes, then turn over and cook for further 2-3 minutes)
4. Turn off the heat, add the remaining ingredients to the frying pan, mix and serve

Tuna Puff Recipe

Tuna puff

The ingredients and procedure for making tuna puff resembles bread and butter pudding, albeit less custardy and certainly not sweet. This is a delicious alternative to a simple tuna sandwich, though not as quick to prepare. And it looks quite different from a sandwich. The end result is crusty and moist. Unfortunately the pictures don't do it justice.

Note: the recipe suggests draining the tuna. I used tuna in oil, didn’t drain it and skipped the butter. 

Tuna puff

Source: Cooking Cache

Ingredients

2 small cans tuna

½ cup milk

2 tablespoon melted butter or margarine (skip if using undrained tuna in oil)

2 eggs, separated

3 tablespoons lemon juice

¼ onion, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

4 slices bread, torn into pieces

Paprika

Directions

1. Mix tuna, milk, butter, egg yolks, lemon juice, onion, salt and pepper
2. Add bread and mix well
3. Beat egg whites until stiff, fold into tuna mixture.
4. Pour into greased two-quart casserole; sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered at 350°F / 175°C for one hour.

Tuna puff

Kokoda (Fijian Ceviche) Recipe

Kokoda

Kokoda, pronounced kokonda, is the Fijian version of a ceviche. The main difference between kokoda and other similar raw fish dishes is that kokoda has coconut milk.


Kokoda, usually served as a starter, is very refreshing and fresh tasting, with a good hit coming from the chilies. It is typically served during summer, since it is always summer in Fiji. Kokoda is also great on a cold winter day, as long as you are sitting in your warm house!

Herring Beetroot Potato Salad with Caviar Recipe

Herring Beetroot Potato Salad with Caviar

This is an excellent recipe that I took from With a Glass who got the recipe from a cousin who in turn got it from someone else. I don’t know where this recipe originally comes from but it is most likely from Eastern/Central Europe or Russia.

History can sometimes be boring and irrelevant, what is important is that the salad is simple to make and delicious. It is quite a heavy salad, I had it as a meal rather than as a salad.

This recipe seems versatile and you can substitute ingredients according to your taste. Variations of this recipe exist, in many forms. Sometime ago I posted the recipe for Swedish beetroot herring salad which has some similarities and differences.

The recipe suggests using herring in oil. I used pickled herring instead and soaked it in water for many hours. If you don’t like herring you can substitute any other fish, it should work fine. 


Using caviar is optional. I placed caviar on one side only since I was unsure whether caviar would go well. It did, thankfully.

It is best to chill the salad for few hours, or even overnight. Like good wine the taste gets better with age. And then the taste deteriorates quite rapidly so don’t let it age for too long. I don’t know how long it can be kept for, I am guessing a few days only.

The amounts below come from With a Glass. I did not follow the amounts exactly as the recipe says, instead I rebelled and used my own estimates.

Herring Beetroot Potato Salad with Caviar

Ingredients

250 grams herring in oil, drained 

2 medium onions (I used less)

4 large potatoes

2 large beetroot

4 – 5 eggs

150 - 200 ml mayonnaise

Caviar (optional)

Directions

1.      Cook the potatoes, beetroot and eggs and let it cool

2.      Coarsely dice the herring, and finely dice the onions, potatoes, beetroot and eggs 

3.      In a serving bowl or dish place the herring, making sure to spread it evenly 

4.      Place onions on top of the herring, followed by potatoes. Season with salt and pepper

5.      Place the beetroot, followed by eggs and mayonnaise.

6.      If you are using caviar, now is the time to place it right at the top

7.      Cover and chill the salad in a refrigerator for many hours, or overnight.

Herring Beetroot Potato Salad with Caviar

Swedish Beetroot Herring Salad Recipe

Swedish Beetroot Herring Salad 

I tried beetroot and herring salad sometime ago, it was one of those prepared salads sold at the supermarket. I was blown away, I wondered how something so simple could be so delicious. The salad is a very happy marriage between sweet beet, salty herring and creamy dressing, a blissful marriage. Of course this works well in the salad world, it cannot work so well in our world. Polygamy is frowned upon in many cultures and a criminal offence in many countries!

Back to the salad, the one from the supermarket was dressed in mayonnaise and sour cream. These were not present in my refrigerator, I used thick cultured milk instead and it worked great. The supermarket salad was well dressed, slightly overdressed I would say, mine on the other hand was scantily clad. That’s how I prefer it. To finish off, a few drops of hot sauce helped liven up the party. Sweet, salty, creamy, hot, delicious and nutritious, and very easy to prepare. 

This salad is usually eaten during Christmas but there is no reason why you cannot eat it the rest of the year!

Recipe adopted from Scandinavia Food

Ingredients

4 boiled Beetroots

2 pickled herring fillets (or more or less, depending on your perference)
2 apples with pips removed

½ red onion

1 tablespoon capers

1 cup crème fraîche (or sour cream)

2 tbs mayonnaise

½ tsp horseradish or wasabi paste (or hot sauce)

½ tbs lemon juice (or vinegar)

½ tbs olive oil

Directions

1. Peel and dice the apple and beetroots. Finely chop the red onion.

2. Mix all the ingredients and let cool for at least 3 hours.