Scratch-made chanterelle tuna noodle casserole

Tuna noodle casserole had always been problematic for me. 

On one hand, I love the IDEA of it: affordable, reasonably healthy, nutritionally balanced comfort food. 

On the other hand, I hated the way it tastes.

Over time I've come to realize that it's not the casserole's fault. Why would it be? Tuna is tasty and healthy. Pasta, in moderation, is part of a balanced diet. Cheese is to freaking die for. 

It's all the fault of the canned cream of mushroom soup.

I HATE canned cream of mushroom soup. I always have. 

As a child I thought I hated mushrooms, but in fact, what I actually hated was canned cream of mushroom soup. The problem was, growing up as the average suburban American in the 80s, the only mushrooms I ever had were in sauces made with canned cream of mushroom soup. Even as a teenager, I ignored mushrooms while foraging because I thought I hated mushrooms.

You see, both mushrooms AND milk products (like cream) have one thing in common: they are famous for absorbing flavors. So whomever decided to put them together and CAN THEM IN METAL needs to be the first against the wall when the revolution comes.

I get it. Not everyone feels the same way. For many, meals made with cream of mushroom soup (from the iconic red and white can) are 100% wholesome, delicious, comfort food, taking one back to thier childhood. My husband insists on Americanna green bean casserole every Christmas, made with canned cream of mushroom soup and frenched onions. Just the smell of it makes me feel ill. 

But with this dish I set out to redeem tuna noodle casserole for myself. In addition to using non-canned, non-processed ingredients, I also lightened it up calories and carb-wise by substituting half of the pasta for cauliflower. In fact, even with generous servings, this all-in-one meal clocks in at under 300 calories. and has two servings of vegetables.

So while this recipe isn't specifically for those of you who adore the canned soup version, you should try it anyway, because you just might come to love it too! My husband did.

Though I made this dish primarily with cinnabar chanterelles (as that's what I have the most of), 
I did mix in some golden chanterelles we've foraged recently as well.

I actually first made a variation of this recipe during snowmageddon in February. As I mentioned before, we were completely snowed in, without having adequately stocked up, and we were living on pantry provisions. My first attempt was good, but hampered by limited ingredients. Canned tuna we had, aa well as pasta, some frozen veggies and we had some cheese and milk, but not really enough. Our pantry had 4 kinds of dried mushrooms: oyster, velvet foot, sheeps polypore and some ash boletes; I used the velvet foot. Those mushrooms were good, but I felt the dish could be better, so I didn't share it. 

By infusing the milk for the bechamel cheese sauce with the mushrooms,
the gourmet flavor saturates the whole dish. 

Man was I ever right. The cinnabar chanterelles we foraged last month are PERFECT in this recipe. By reconstituting the dried mushrooms in the milk that will be used to make the cheese sauce, the unique sweet, earthy, fruity flavor of the chanterelles completely infuses the entire dish. You get powerful gourmet mushroom flavor from just a relatively small amount.

The cinnabar chanterelle we have in Texas is most likely Cantharellus texensis,
which is visually indistinguishable from the more common Cantharellus cinnabarinus.
But in my opinion it tastes better.

Note: besides to replacing the canned cream of mushroom soup and the addition of cauliflower, I've made some other choices that simply align with my taste preferences. For example, I don't care for peas or egg noodles, so I've replaced them with asparagus and pasta. Feel free to use the more traditional ingredients if you prefer. 

Chanterelle mushroom tuna noodle casserole with cauliflower

Makes six generous servings

• 12 oz. chopped cauliflower florets, fresh or frozen
• 12 oz. canned tuna of your choice, I used solid white albacore, drained
• 6 oz. egg noodles or pasta of your choice *
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas, chopped asparagus or other robust green vegetable
• 1 cup milk, I used whole milk
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 2 shallots or other onion, diced
• 2 scallions (green onions), sliced, dark green parts separated
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 oz. sharp white cheddar cheese
• 3 oz. grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup panko or other breadcrumbs *
• 3 oz. butter
• 2 tbs. flour
• 1 cup vegetable, fish or chicken broth/stock *
• 1 cup dried chanterelle or cinnabar chanterelle mushrooms
• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• salt and pepper

1. Start by reconstituting your chanterelle mushrooms in the milk. Make sure that the mushrooms are submerged, cover with a bowl to press them in if needed. Set aside. 

2. Preheat the oven to 375.

3. In a large pot, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add in the pasta or noodles and cook to al dente for pasta, and just tender for noodles. I use the time this is boiling to chop my veggies and drain the tuna. 

4. Right before the pasta/noodles are done, add in the cauliflower florets. If using frozen, you only need to cook for about a minute, but if using fresh you will need about 4 minutes. Drain the pasta/noodles and cauliflower. Spread the mix into a buttered or greased 9x13 casserole dish. 

5. Add one pat of butter and a couple tablespoons of broth to the pot you just had the pasta in and melt the butter. Add in your shallots, white and light green parts of the scallions, celery, and the peas/asparagus (if using fresh) and sauté until onions start to become translucent. Add in the garlic and peas/asparagus (if using frozen) and continue to sauté for a minute. Add in the tuna, sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté for another 2 minutes. 

6. Remove everything from the pot and mix in the casserole dish with the pasta and cauliflower. 

7. Melt the remaining butter in the pot over medium heat and mix in a tablespoon of broth/stock. Add in the flour and mix to form a roux. I cooked for about 4 minutes, for a "blonde roux" which is an almond brown color. Add in the remaining broth/stock, and bring to a boil, whisking as needed to keep it smooth. 

8. When the broth mix comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium high and pour in the milk and reconstituted mushrooms. Continue to whisk as you return the mixture to a boil. As soon as it starts to boil bring down the heat so it never comes to a rolling boil, but stays with a slight bubbling as it thickens. Add in the nutmeg and mix. 

9. Add in the cheddar and about half the parmesan. Continue to stir and/or whisk as needed till the cheeses melt. Remove from heat, check for flavor and add in salt, pepper and/or more nutmeg as needed. 

Lots of fresh, bright colors flavors ready for topping

10. Pour the mix over the casserole and add in the chopped parsley. Mix together so the parsley and mushrooms are evenly distributed. Sprinkle the green parts of the scallions and the remaining parmesan over the top. Then cover evenly with the panko or other breadcrumbs. You can drizzle some melted butter over the breadcrumbs if you like. 

11. Bake uncovered at 375 for 15 minutes. Then increase temp to a broil and broil for 3 minutes or until breadcrumbs brown. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving, as the sauce will thicken when removed from heat. Enjoy!

* Some notes on what I used in this dish. 

For the pasta, I used cavatappi. I prefer either cavatappi or gemelli when making casseroles as they are thicker than most pastas, and hold up very well to the double cooking you get in a casserole, without getting over-cooked or mushy. The twists are also great at trapping flavorful sauces. 

For the broth I have been crushing hard on "Better Than Bouillon" lately, and using it in anything and everything. I keep the organic chicken, beef, vegetable and roasted garlic on hand at all times. They aren't bullions, they are actually roasted ingredients made into a paste (needs to be refrigerated once opened). For this dish I used the roasted garlic, but it was STRONG the first time I tried it, and overpowered the mushrooms. The next time I used half the amount of flavor to water, and it came out perfectly. I would also love to try the mushroom base, but I can't find it in a store near me. 

Finally, for the breadcrumbs, every family seems to have their own preferred topping for tuna noodle casserole. I've heard of ritz crackers, cornflakes, saltines, etc. My mother was not one to buy name brand, and if she did she certainly wasn't crumbling it up. She used the stale ends of white bread.  I really like panko (Japanese bread crumbs) so that's what I used, but you use what works for you.