A week later and I’m still stuffed from a long Thanksgiving weekend with my family.
Mom made all of my must-haves, and added a wonderful appetizer spread a little before dinnertime. Throughout the weekend, Mom also offered leftover potato dumplings (a family favorite) and we ate take-out when we were tired of leftovers.
It’s enough that I’m not sure how I’ve continued to eat so much after getting home.
And yet, there’s blogs to write.
I was trying to find something simple and also different from traditional Thanksgiving fare for this week’s recipe, and also something different. Instead, as I was talking about my next recipe with Mom and Grandma, I came up with something that met the first two requirements but was one of my favorites. After talking about it, though, I had a hankering.
I first made this Epicurious tuna noodle casserole during my year of casseroles, and loved it so much I’ve been making it–even without writing about it–for years now. It tastes a lot like the classic casserole (with potato chips on top!!), but instead of canned cream-of-something soup, there’s a wonderful homemade leek sauce that makes it even better.
While I more or less followed my previous recipe, which altered the original slightly, it was interesting to see how it turned out in a Dutch oven versus a casserole dish.
The original recipe calls for mixing the sauce on top of noodles, and it calls for buttering a separate casserole dish after the mixture is prepared, but that sounded like a lot of dishes when the Dutch oven could do it all. (Full disclosure: In the interest of saving time, I did cook the noodles in a separate pot while I prepared the sauce, but they can be made in the same Dutch oven or prepared in it in advance.)
I wasn’t sure if not being able to butter a separate dish would make the casserole stick, so I upped the butter (even though I’m sure there’s more than enough fat). Some of the edges did end up sticking a bit but I liked the browning that the Dutch oven gave to the casserole. So, all in all, I’d say the Dutch oven works great, and tuna noodle casserole is even more amazing now that I know it tastes great and is adaptable.
Here’s what I did:
Ingredients
- 6 T. butter
- 2-3 leeks, sliced
- 1 t. celery seeds
- ¼ c. all-purpose flour
- 2 c. whole milk
- ½ c. half and half
- 1 t. lemon juice
- 12 oz. egg noodles
- 1 c. Gruyere cheese, grated
- 2 T. fresh dill, chopped (I used more, but adjust for your love of dill)
- 2 cans (5 to 6 oz.) tuna, drained, broken into chunks
- 2 c. potato chips, coarsely crushed (my sweetie and I prefer Ruffles)
- Salt and pepper
Directions
Cook the egg noodles according to package instructions. This can be done in the Dutch oven, separately, or in advance. Once ready, drain the noodles BUT reserve about ¾ c. of the cooking liquid.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Meanwhile, on the stove top, melt the butter in the Dutch oven, and then add the leeks and celery seeds, seasoning with salt if desired. Cover the Dutch oven and saute the leeks until tender, about 8 minutes, stirring often.
Gradually add the flour, and stir for 1 minute.
Gradually add the milk and half and half. Simmer until the mixture thickens, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.
Once the noodles are ready, add them to the leek sauce in the Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Add in the cheese and dill, and stir to combine. Add the reserved noodle liquid by tablespoons until the mixture is creamy (you likely won’t use it all, but it’s better to have more than less; I added about ¼ c. in total but add to your desired creaminess).
Finally, fold in the tuna.
Cover the Dutch oven and bake for about 20 minutes until heated through. Remove from oven, remove lid, and add the crushed potato chips on top of the casserole. Bake uncovered another 10 to 15 minutes until the chips are golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Let cool slightly and enjoy!
