A few tweaks and Nana’s casserole moves into the 21st century

In 2008, I shared a low-fat version of tuna noodle casserole based on my memory of what Nana (my maternal grandmother) used to make. I cut as much fat as I could using low-fat cream of mushroom soup, skimmed milk, low-fat noodles and water-packed tuna. It was marginally similar but not nearly the same. The flavors were muted.

Recently, going through a box of old recipes, I found Nana’s original tuna noodles casserole that she’d handwritten out for me nearly 55 years ago. Bless her.

As I read through her recipe, memories of her and the great food she made came flooding back. I decided to use her recipe and bring it into the 21st century with my current food plan.

How we viewed canned tuna 55 years ago and how we see it today is very different. Back then, no one thought about mercury and tuna.

Today, mercury and tuna are a big deal. I relied on consumerlab.com for their canned tuna research and found that Genova Yellowfin Tuna in Extra-virgin olive oil had the least mercury. There is no such thing as mercury-free tuna.

I used the olive oil from the tuna cans to coat the casserole dish and swirled it with additional olive oil to make a tasty oil and vinegar dressing for a green side salad.

Nana used two 7-ounce cans of tuna. To keep the mercury level low, I used two 5-ounce cans of the Genoa tuna (4 ounces drained weight).

Nana probably never considered the gluten content of the noodles she used. Today, I stay away from wheat since it can trigger my compulsion to overeat. There are many great gluten-free pastas available, and I chose one free of wheat and made from organic brown rice.

Of course, Nana used the classic red-and-white can of cream of mushroom soup. I located a dandy wheat-free cream of mushroom soup.

Nana used canned, tiny peas for her casserole. It may be an improvement to use frozen baby peas and bring them to room temperature before adding them to the casserole. Since canned peas are cooked in the canning process, this shift to fresh-frozen peas could make for a brighter color and less mushy peas.

Next, how to top the new tuna casserole version? Today, gluten-free bread crumbs are available, mostly made from rice flour that, when baked and browned on top of casserole, works great with flavor and crunch.

Since I had reduced the amount of tuna, I added a small can of drained mushroom pieces and stems to my casserole.

While my oven heated, I assembled my casserole. While my casserole baked, I cooked up an Asian stir-fry of sugar snap peas seasoned with toasted sesame oil and dusted with sesame seeds.

My tuna noodle casserole did not taste exactly like Nana’s, but it was amazingly close.

Thanks, Nana, for sharing your recipe and the comfort that still comes with it.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

Nana’s 2023 Tuna Noodle Casserole

8 ounces gluten-free, flat noodles* (such as fettuccine)

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 5-ounce cans low-mercury, yellowfin tuna, in extra-virgin olive oil (such as Genova brand)

2 (11-ounce) packages cream of mushroom soup*(such as Whole Foods 365 brand)

1½ cups whole milk*

1½ cups frozen tiny peas, at room temperature*

1 (6.5 ounce) can mushroom pieces and stems*, drained

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ cup gluten-free bread crumbs (such as Aleia’s or Gillian’s)

Place the oven rack in the center position and begin heating the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly coat a 13-by-9-inch casserole dish with olive oil (I used some of the oil from the oil-packed tuna). Set aside.

In a 5-quart saucepan, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Stir in salt and noodles and return to a boil, Reduce the heat, and stirring once in a while, cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Drain olive oil from tuna and set aside.

To a large mixing bowl add the mushroom soup and milk and stir together until combined. Shred tuna with a fork and add to the soup mixture along with the peas, mushrooms, and black pepper, stirring together until combined. Fold in the cooked noodles and then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Evenly distribute bread crumbs over the top.

Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbling around the edges.

Serves 6

Nutrition values per serving: 347 calories (19 percent from fat), 7.3 g fat (3.3 g saturated fat), 51.3 g carbohydrates (48 net carbs), 5 g sugars, 3.5 g fiber, 19 g protein, 16 mg cholesterol, 757 mg sodium.

*Organic

– Don Mauer