Jalapeno & Shiitake Tuna Casserole – AKA: Changing Conceptions about Casseroles, One Spoon at a Time

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Tuna casserole? Ewww. If you have a four year old, that’s probably what they’re going to say. Because four year olds are dumb and they haven’t experienced the universe yet.

This is a recipe that’s a mix of convenience and “gourmet-icality.” That’s a word I just made up right now, on the spot. You’re welcome. As part of this recipe, you could make your own cream of mushroom soup, and it’s not that hard. But, since large cans are available for a few bucks, why not just for brevity’s sake? We’ll be adding some homemade stuff with the onions and mushrooms, so don’t worry, you’re not just opening up a can of Spaghetti-O’s and calling it a day.

Casseroles, including this one, are one of those things I could just spoon feed myself until the tunas come home, so this definitely qualifies as a comfort food. These are generally reserved for colder weather months, but this one could easily be used for a summertime backyard shindig and served cold, whatever you like. Any way you play it, I’m sure there won’t be any left when the day is over.

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Servings: 8…or 4-6 Mes

• 12 – 15 oz. of canned Tuna, drained (2 lg. or 3 med. cans)
• 10-12 oz. of Rotini pasta (Fusilli will do)
• 22.6 oz. Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 8 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms
• 1 1/2 Cups shredded Parimgiano Reggiano
• 1 1/4 cup Whole Milk
• 2 large Jalapenos, diced
• 8 cloves Garlic, diced
• 1/2 of 1 Red Onion
• 3/4 cup Bread Crumbs
• Salt
• Pepper
• Neutral Oil
• Italian Parsley for garnish

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1.) Let’s begin with taking out a large saucepan and boiling some water for the pasta. Cook until just under “al dente” for we’re going to want some wiggle room since the pasta will continue cooking while the whole casserole is baking. Drain the water and set the semi-cooked pasta aside for now.

2.) Get a 10 in. stainless steel pan and heat to medium. Slice your onion in half, then into rings, and then into quarter rings each. Cook these for about 4 minutes, stirring a couple times.

Chop your shiitake mushrooms into halves or quarters, depending on the size, just enough to keep their shape somewhat intact. Then, dice your jalapenos. My version is going to add a good kick, so if you want less than that, only add one large jalapeno instead of two. Throw all these into the mix and cook for another 4 minutes, stirring a couple times again. Finish off by dicing the garlic and dropping that in there for about 30 seconds until they become fragrant, add a couple of pinches of salt and pepper each, then stir everything together and set aside as well.

4.) My favorite part is about to come up. Nothing is more satisfying than mixing a whole bunch of ingredients to make a massive pile of goop. Goop is good. Usually. Sometimes. Mixing liquids and solids (for the most part in this case) should be done in separate stages for the sake of uniform incorporation.

First, shred your Parmigiano cheese. Then, take out your second largest mixing bowl. Open up your can(s) of (whoop ass) condensed cream of mushroom soup and add to the bowl. Then, add the milk and then the cheese. Mix up this dairy wonderland until well combined.

Next, get your largest mixing bowl. Add the pasta, tuna, peas, and your sautéed onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, and garlic.

It would be very difficult to mix these dry ingredients before adding the milky lubrication, so you don’t have to bother yet. So now, pour in your dairy goop all over the “dry” ingredients and mix it all up until all is one and one is all. It’s actually quite edible right now. Why don’t you take a few spoonful’s before baking? No one has to know.

5.) Set the oven rack to the middle and then crank your oven to 375 F and take out a 10 in. by 14 in. baking dish. Mine is actually 10.3 by 14.5, so if you have something close, I’m sure it will work. Slather on some cooking oil or melted butter and coat the bottom and inner sides well. Pour the soon-to-be casserole into the dish and smooth the whole thing out so that everything is nice and tucked into the corners and has an even top. Lastly, pour the bread crumbs making a thin crust over the whole top in a uniform manner.

We’re going to cover the dish in aluminum foil for 2/3 of the cooking time so as to not evaporate much of the liquid, and then uncover to give the top a little bit of a brown. Put the casserole into the oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Take out and sprinkle chopped Italian parsley on top to make it all pretty looking and such.

You can try to serve the whole thing in a lasagna style by cubing it up, but I find it always falls apart. Kudos to you if you can make that happen. If not, just spoon it into medium sized bowls and pile it high, mixing it up a bit. There you go, you’re doing it!

Now, if you’re like me, it’s time to eat until you wish you hadn’t had an entire extra bowl…or two.