Tuna Cass

Lest you think that this endeavor is just about shopping, you're about to discover my other passion: cooking.
We went through a period where Turkey Casserole was in heavy rotation. Probably once a week or so. And who can blame? veggies, ground turkey, cheese, tomato sauce and pasta--sort of covers all the bases.
Lately though, I've been going through a new phase: Tuna Casserole. Not the Campbell's cream of mushroom soup kind--although that is certainly very much a comfort food from my youth. The great thing about tuna casserole is that you really can make it out of stuff that you keep in your pantry: canned tuna, pasta.....but this new version that I've discovered and now messed around with takes it up a notch AND makes it much healthier.....

1 bag of pasta or egg noodles or whatever you like
1/2 a brown onion roughly chopped
2 big spoonfulls of capers
1 1/2 cans of artichoke hearts*
3/4 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
3 cans (6oz ea) of tuna packed in water (reserve the water when you drain!)
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. of finely grated lemon zest
1/4 cup of flat leaf parseley
1/3 cup of bread crumbs

optional:
1 cup of frozen peas (cooked)
1/2 to 1 cup of chopped mushrooms
*I just substituted 1 bag (trader joe's bag) of cauliflower (steamed) for the artichoke hearts and it turned out great

Preheat oven to 350.
lightly oil an 8 to 10 cup casserole dish (better a round or tall one than a big baking dish)
cook your pasta and drain.

Puree onion, artichoke hearts (or steamed cauliflower) and capers in a food processor until smooth. Add parmesan cheese and reserved tuna water and pulse to combine. Run machine and add olive oil slowly to emulsify. (The last time I made this, I didn't use quite 1/2 a cup). season with black pepper.

Move everything to a large bowl and add the lemon zest, parseley, pasta and drained tuna. And if you're adding veggies, add those now too. Mix it all up and transfer to your baking dish.

sprinkle bread crumbs (and I put a little more parmesan on top as well).
Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes--until cooked through and brown on top.
Let stand for a few minutes before serving.

This recipe comes from Martha Stewart and has been altered in my kitchen.....I think that's what I like about it: like Turkey cass, you can move it around to suit your tastes and your pantry.

post dinner note:
worked out great. And my husband couldn't believe that it didn't have some sort of 'cream' base.....woo hoo!
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