A cookbook is only as good as its poorest recipe.
~ Julia Child ~
If you are South African you will probably have a Huisgenoot or You Magazine recipe book in your house. SA’s favourite weekly family magazine started compiling recipe books decades ago. We have all made some great and some not-so-great recipes from them. The recipes are usually sourced from readers who write in and share their gold star recipes – exactly what I try to do on Melby’s Post! Before every recipe under the sun was available with a quick internet search, I used to collect recipe books. That’s how I came by my Huisgenoot Wenresepte Omnibus and YOU Budget Beaters. And where I found the recipe from which I created the best Tuna Pasta Bake.
“150 tried and tested family favourites”
The hallmark of the YOU and Huisgenoot recipes is that they use pantry staples and are written to make the best use of inexpensive ingredients. Stretching your rands and meals to feed more people. My Tuna Pasta Bake recipe is just that sort of recipe. Using tinned tuna, pasta shapes, onion and tomato, it turns a little into a lot and does it in the tastiest way! To be honest, before I found this recipe I did not enjoy warm tuna dishes. The first time I made this recipe I was unsure of it until I opened the oven and it smelled like comfort wrapped in gooey cheese! Hats off to Mrs Veronica Hebler of Rietkuil who sent in the recipe for Noodles with Tuna that became my Tuna Pasta Bake!
Tuna Mayonnaise reinvented
So what is so special about this budget beater recipe? It combines fresh ingredients (onion and tomato) with two super surprising pantry staples (mayonnaise and chutney) to create a delicious, flavourful bake. I promise it will have even the pickiest of tuna eaters coming back for seconds. As usual, I don’t really stick to the original recipe anymore. First off I usually replace the chutney with sweet chilli sauce or my Spicy Tomato Chutney. I have also replaced the onion and tomato base with tinned alternatives and it tasted great. My last adjustment is to add more veggies. I have tried mushrooms, baby spinach, bell peppers, corn and peas with great success. If your food cupboard is a bit bare but you need something comforting, give this Tuna Pasta Bake a go. YOU will not be sorry 😉
Tuna Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 large tomatoes, diced
- oil for frying
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ t red chilli flakes Optional
- 3 170g tins of tuna, drained * see note
- ¼ c mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp chutney Sweet chilli sauce also works well
- 500 g pasta shapes, cooked
- 1 c cheese, grated
- 25 ml fresh parsley, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C and grease a large ovenproof dish.
- Place a pan over medium heat and sauté the chopped onion and garlic until translucent.
- Add the diced tomato and juice left on the board after dicing. Fry with the onion mixture until the tomatoes start to break down, approximately 10 minutes. You can add up to a ¼ cup of water if the mixture is very dry or catches to the pan. The original recipe said you can also add a little bit of the tuna brine to the pan.
- Season the tomato mixture with salt, pepper and chilli flakes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the drained tuna, mayonnaise and chutney. Stir lightly to mix through.
- Add the cooked pasta and mix well with the tuna mixture. You can add some reserved pasta cooking water to ensure the sauce coats the pasta evenly.
- Transfer to the ovenproof dish and top with the grated cheese and parsley. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until golden and bubbly.
Notes
- It seems the weight of tins is forever changing. The original recipe used 185g tins of tuna. Nowadays tuna tins only have about 170g in them. I find that three 170g tins give us ample tuna for a large pasta bake. You can use fewer or more as you need to.
- As mentioned I have used tinned onion and tomato mix before when I was in a hurry. If you want to take a shortcut, mix two 400g tins of tomato and onion mix with the drained tuna, mayonnaise, chutney and cooked pasta. Mix well and season with salt and pepper. Then top the mixture with cheese and bake as per the recipe.
- A very decadent add-on would be mixing the grated cheese with some crushed potato crisps (choose your favourite flavour) before baking. This gives everything a crispy, flavourful boost!
- You can add veggies of your choice to boost the nutritional value of the dish. Fry some chopped bell pepper or sliced mushrooms with the tomato mixture, or add in frozen peas and/or corn or fresh baby spinach when mixing the tuna and pasta together.
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