Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Tuna Noodle Casserole

Gluten and Dairy Free Tuna Noodle
Casserole was a big hit in our house!

It's hard enough to be gluten-free but throw in dairy-free too and it can be hard to convert recipes or find substitutes. I've been looking for a good gluten-free noodle to use for casseroles but had not found one until I came across Mrs Glee's Crazy Noodles. The first thing I pictured was a tuna noodle casserole. By the way, they call them "crazy" because they are made with beans!

Now I wasn't brought up on tuna casserole but I did make a version with sautéed mushrooms and sherry that I always enjoyed. I knew I could recreate the sauce gluten-free but needed the right noodle. 

Thank you to Mrs Glee's for sending me samples of two of their noodles and their flour mix to use for recipe testing. 

Let's start with the sauce. In my cookbook, The Warm Kitchen, I detail how to make a delicious sautéed mushroom sauce. That's definitely a necessary element. The sauce should reduce for awhile so as to maximize flavor. If you don't have the book, use this gluten-free mushroom sauce.

Ingredients for the Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Tuna Noodle Casserole

Next, add a plain, unsweetened milk like almond or coconut (I used about 1 cup or so along with the broth in the sauce). Thicken with a slurry. The sauce should not be too thick or else the casserole will be dry. When you are done, you will have about 3-4 cups of sauce. 

Cool the sauce a bit and then get ready to assemble. I cooked 4 cups of Mrs. Glee's noodles. Meanwhile I measured a cup of frozen peas. I also drained 2 cans of tuna. I prefer tuna packed in olive oil so if there's a little oil left, that's fine. Preheat the oven to 350F. 

Once the noodles are cooked (a bit underdone is best), drained and rinsed, place everything in a bowl or even the pot in which you cooked the noodles. Mix the noodles, sauce, peas, and tuna. Give it a taste and adjust with more salt and pepper if necessary. Add more plain milk substitute if the mixture seems thick. 

Place this mixture in a greased casserole or baking dish. Top with either gluten-free breadcrumbs or almond meal, seasoned with salt and pepper. Make sure to drizzle a bit of olive oil on top, too. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Remove cover and finish baking until casserole is bubbling and top is browned. Let rest a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

By the way, here's a chicken noodle soup I made the other day. I made fresh chicken broth and added some chicken to it. I added the old-fashioned noodles according to the package and cooked them about 6 minutes. At the end, I added frozen peas and corn. Delish.

Gluten-Free Chicken Noodle Soup

Roasted salmon with cilantro cashew pesto recipe

Dish Assembly: Brown rice, Wilted greens and Salmon topped with Cilantro pesto.

During a cleanse I did this summer, I was craving something yummy. There was a recipe for salmon in the book but I wanted to make a variation. I was amazed at how satisfying and filling this dish was. I hope you will give it a try! The salmon and greens were on a bed of brown rice.

I ate this for two meals and still had plenty to share with my family. The key to healthy eating when you are busy is cooking in bulk. I roasted 1 1/2 pounds of salmon one day and used it for 2 days after. I'm going to break down the dish into parts. 

Roasted Salmon
Try to buy wild salmon as some of the salmon that is farmed can be dangerous.

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Cut salmon into similar sized pieces (or ask your fish monger to do this for you) so it cooks at the same time. Check for bones. If you feel any, pull out.
Place salmon pieces on a baking sheet lined with foil (this makes clean up much easier) or a greased glass roasting pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in hot oven for approximately 15 minutes or until salmon is mostly firm. Cool slightly before serving. Save remaining salmon for other meals or salads.

Cilantro Cashew Pesto
Place the following in a food processor or blender and process until a paste forms. Add more oil if it's too thick.
1 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 cup raw cashews
Juice of 1/2 lime
2-3 Tablespoons safflower oil (or any plain vegetable oil)
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Wilted Greens
Slice 1/2 onion while heating a medium saute pan. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the hot pan and then immediately add the onion. Add some black pepper only. Cook for about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent and soft. Add 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt.

Add 2-3 cups of spinach and/or arugula to the pan. Toss with onions and cook 1 minute. Turn off heat and remove from burner. Let rest at least 3 minutes.

Quick and easy cioppino recipe

I have lived in Northern California for over a decade and I have never made cioppino until last week. I have no idea why; maybe it seemed intimidating, even to me! After having it at a friend's house over the holidays and seeing how simple it was, I knew it was time for me to tackle it.

The recipe she used was this one from Giada de Laurentiis which was delicious, of course, but one thing she (my friend, not Giada) complained about was the availability (and cost) of the fish stock. Since I often make seafood risotto with chicken stock, I was curious if I could pull it off for cioppino as well.

After making it last weekend for some friends, the results were unanimous; the chicken stock not only made the broth lighter but it was less salty. I decided to use the juice from the canned clams to add some extra flavor. With the exception of the halibut and the crab (it's high season for Dungeness right now), the other fish was frozen (shrimp and scallops) or from a can (chopped clams). I know the recipe usually has fresh clams and mussels but was looking to simplify the recipe as much as possible.

So grab your garlic toast (gluten-free, in my case) and try this recipe!

Quick and Easy Cioppino

What is cioppino? There are many versions but no matter how you slice it, you are cooking fish and seafood in a simmering broth of tomato and wine. If you want straight-forward and easy, this recipe is for you.

2 tsp olive oil
2 tsp unsalted butter
1 large or 2 small onions, cut into thin slices
1 bulb of fennel, cut into thin slices (if you don’t like or don’t have fennel, leave this out)
¼ tsp ground pepper
¼ tsp crushed red pepper (add more if you like it spicier)
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp sea salt

1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
1/3 c tomato paste (freeze any leftover in a ziploc bag for another time)
4 cups of fish broth OR 1 carton (32 oz) chicken broth (see note)
2 cups dry white wine
Juice from 1 can of chopped clams (reserve clams for later)
1 bay leaf

1 lb halibut, cut into chunks
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (21-25 size)
1 lb sea scallops (cut in half if large)
Clams from chopped clams can
1 Dungeness cooked crab, cleaned and cracked

Note: you can use a light chicken broth in this recipe if you don’t have fish stock on hand. It comes out very well and is less expensive. You could also use a vegetable broth.

1. Sauté onion and fennel in olive oil and butter with the black and crushed red pepper. Cook until softened and golden. Add garlic and salt and cook for 1 minute.

2. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, wine, clam juice and bay leaf. Bring this to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes or until the onion and fennel are soft and the broth has thickened.

3. About 10 minutes before you are ready to eat, bring the broth back up to a boil. Add the thickest fish first. Then add remaining fish or seafood in stages, waiting about two minutes in between. Try to keep the broth at a simmer. Add anything cooked like the clams or the crab at the very end and just heat through. Remove bay leaf. It is very hard to digest so you want to make sure you don't eat it.

4. Before serving, taste the broth to make sure the balance of salt and pepper is right. If it tastes “flat”, add more salt. If you want it spicier, add more crushed red pepper.

Time to Try Pad Thai

Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai

Think your family won't eat Thai food? Have you tried Pad Thai? It's basically noodles in a sweet sauce. At some point, we realized our kids liked it when they tried it in a restaurant. They are not crazy about cilantro but they love the rest.

Hmm, sauteed shrimp or chicken with some scrambled egg and tofu and a few veggies? Sounds good to me. Introduce this to them when they can eat noodles. If they aren't as adventurous, try keeping things separate for them; some kids just like it that way. Peanut allergies? Either omit or use cashews if you can.

If you can buy the ingredients over the weekend, this dish is really very quick. I use pre-shredded carrots, frozen shrimp which thaw quickly and just chop the cilantro and scallions while everything else is cooking up in the wok. I like my mini processor for the peanuts. I'm working on a pad thai sauce and will post when I've mastered it. For now, Annie Chungs is delicious and one bottle is the perfect amount.

Hope you like it.

Shrimp and Tofu Pad Thai
Serves 3-4

8 oz rice noodles
3 tbsp vegetable oil or canola oil (divided)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 small onion, thinly sliced or chopped
8-10, or about 1/2 lb, medium sized shrimp, cleaned and deveined, thawed if frozen (can also add chicken)
2 tsp ginger, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh bean sprouts (if you don't like them or don't have them, just leave them out)
1 cup shredded carrots
8 oz firm tofu, cubed
1 bottle Pad Thai Sauce (I like Annie Chung's brand)

Garnish
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
3 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts
3 tbsp scallions, thinly sliced
1 lime, cut into wedges

1. Fill a medium pot a little more than half way with water. Bring to a boil. Add rice noodles and turn heat off. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Strain noodles and rinse with cold water. You can keep these in the colander while you make the stir fry.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok or pan over high heat. Add eggs and scramble, using a spoon to move around the pan (otherwise it will burn). It should cook very quickly. Once cooked, remove from pan and place in a bowl.
3. Heat remaining oil and add onion and shrimp to pan. Cook until shrimp are opaque. Add ginger and garlic and cook for one minute. Transfer to the bowl with the eggs.
4. Reduce heat to low, add sauce and noodles to pan and mix well. Then, add cooked shrimp, eggs, carrots, tofu and bean sprouts to noodles and toss. Garnish with cilantro, peanuts, scallions, and lime wedges. Serve and enjoy.

Not Your Mom's Tuna Casserole

The funny thing is that my mom didn't make a lot of tuna casserole. I acquired a taste for it when I lived in New England and worked in hospitals known for their all-American menus. Over the years, I never had it very often, especially after moving to California, but always liked it.

A few years back, I saw a recipe in Gourmet magazine that was a little fancier than the "boil noodles and add a can of cream of mushroom soup to it" version. I decided to give it a try. You basically make a really flavorful mushroom soup as the base. And then you add it to cooked noodles and bake. The flavor development is just delicious.

I decided to add my own twist to it as well as amounts. That is what you see below. Even if you sauté some onions and mushrooms and deglaze it with marsala or sherry and add that to mushroom soup, you'll get a much better product. If you look at the picture to the left, you may notice it doesn't look like 4 cups of mushrooms. I like to cook the wild mushrooms first like porcini, crimini and portobello and then cook the white or button mushrooms. Even if it's for 2-3 minutes, this technique seems to produce a browner mushroom because I haven't crowded the pan. Plus, those mushrooms are a little firmer and some times take longer to cook. I thought it might be too much information in the recipe so if you want to try it, adjust accordingly.

It may not seem easy (there are a lot of steps) but make it once or twice and you won't think about it again. Also, instead of tuna, you could substitute chicken or salmon; for the vegetarian option, leave out the meat. Don't have egg noodles? You can also use rotini or break up some spaghetti for a tuna noodle tettrazini. For the breadcrumbs, rather than buying something in a cardboard container, my local bakery sells dried crumbs which are definitely fresher than what is on the shelf in a store. If you don't have any crumbs, toast 3-4 pieces of bread, cool and then chop in a food processor. For an added treat, crush up a few potato chips and throw those on top as well. Wow, that's a real throwback to comfort food!

What I want you to gain from this is the technique. Making a quick cream sauce, even if you use low-fat milk, is within your reach. Just give it a try. And let me know how it came out when you do.

Amy's Tuna Noodle Casserole

6 oz dried curly egg noodles (a Pennsylvania Dutch style; about 3 ½-4 cups)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tsp oil
6 grinds of pepper (or about 1/4 tsp)
3 Tbl unsalted butter, divided
10 oz mushrooms, sliced, about 4 c total-can use a combo of white, Portobello and shitake
1 Tbl soy sauce
1/4 cup Marsala or Sherry
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tbl all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken and/or mushroom broth
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
6 oz can tuna, drained (I like tuna packed in olive oil but use what you have)
½ cup frozen peas
3/4 c plain bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbl vegetable or olive oil
Optional: 4 oz grated Cheddar (1 cup)

This tuna casserole has 4 components, any of which can be done ahead:
Cook the noodles
Cook the mushrooms
Make a mushroom sauce
Bake the casserole

Note: if you chose to prep the casserole ahead and refrigerate, you will need to adjust the cooking time. It is done when the casserole is bubbling and the top is brown.

1. Cook noodles in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain noodles in a colander with cold water and keep near by.
2. In the same large pot, cook onion in olive oil with pepper over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and browned, about 5 minutes. If onion seems dry, add a little bit of salt.
3. Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 375°F. Butter or spray with non-stick spray a medium casserole dish. Set aside.
4. To the same pot which the onions are in, increase heat to moderately high and add only 1 Tbl of butter and the mushrooms. Sauté, stirring only occasionally, until mushrooms begin to brown. If mushrooms seem too dry, add a little salt. Once the mushrooms are browned, add soy sauce and continue to sauté, stirring, until liquid is evaporated.
5. Add Marsala or Sherry and simmer, stirring occasionally, until evaporated.
6. Add 2 Tbl butter to the pot, allow it to melt and then add 3 Tbl flour. Cook for 2-3 minutes. This is your roux.
7. Add broth in a stream, whisking, and bring to a boil. Whisk in milk and simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in lemon juice. Flake tuna into sauce and stir gently. Add peas and noodles. Taste and season sauce with salt and pepper if needed.
8. Transfer mixture to baking dish, spreading evenly.
9. Toss together bread crumbs, oil, salt and pepper (or truffle salt to make it even tastier) in a bowl. Sprinkle evenly over casserole. Bake until topping is crisp and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes.

Lemon Caper Sauce

Grilled Fish with Lemon Caper Sauce on a Bed of Organic Arugula

Does this dish sound like something you would order in a restaurant? Well it might but you can make it at home without a lot of fuss. And you might think it strange but my 2 and 4 year old both ate the fish and sauce. The arugula was a little spicy for them but at least they tried it.

When I think about good food and what I like, I realize it’s generally simple. That’s my new motto. I don’t have time to be in the kitchen for hours. It’s got to be quick and easy. I have to admit, when I cook, I don’t often measure. I really do it because I don’t want to pull out the measuring cups or spoons, let alone have another thing to wash.

Let yourself go in the kitchen! Try to estimate by eye how much is a tablespoon of oil or half a teaspoon of salt. Look at a recipe and get the essence of the technique. Determine if a recipe is simple or just too complex. Sometimes I don’t follow the recipe but I use the ingredients. That works for me.

A friend of mine has recently moved to Spain for 2 years. She sent me an email the other day about a delicious lemon caper sauce her 8-year old daughter made. Apparently, it was so good, her other daughter, who is 10, was licking her plate. In the email, she included the ingredients but not the amounts. I had asked for the recipe but with the 9 hour time difference, I hadn’t received it yet. So, I did what I encourage you to do; I winged it (wung it?).

I had envisioned this sauce over fish but it would also work with chicken or even plain pasta. Earlier in the week, I had gotten some arugula at the farmer’s market. I spotted some nice white fish in the grocery store, and, shazam, this dish came together. I think my mouth started to water a bit, too.

When it was time to get dinner ready, I started with the fish. A little olive oil, salt and pepper, and a hot grill pan; that’s all I needed. While the fish cooked, I prepared the sauce. I finished the fish by placing a large pot cover on top to steam it a bit and make sure it was cooked through. I had already washed the arugula so it was ready to go. When the fish was done, plate assembly was easy: arugula, fish, sauce. The flavors went together so well. I was really in heaven. My husband barely looked up when he was eating, always a good sign of a tasty dish.

Ok, so lets give you that sauce recipe. That’s what you really need. I described the fish technique above. I also want to share with you one of my favorite products. I love using this lemon squeezer; it really gets out all of the juice and leaves the seeds behind. To get out even more juice, your lemon should be room temp. If you just pulled it from the fridge, place in the microwave for 10-15 seconds. Then, roll the lemon on the counter. Once you’ve done this, cut in half and get that juice out. If you don’t have an official juicer, squeeze the juice over your other hand to catch the seeds. Sure you have to wash your hands but they will smell very nice.

I hope you’ll try the recipe and most importantly, enjoy it as much as we did. I used to say to my cousin about cooking “Luke, use the force.” She didn’t think it was that funny. Find your inner chef. Just try it.

Laurel & Siena's Lemon Caper Sauce

Serves 3-4 servings of sauce

Juice of 1-2 lemons
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 - 1 tsp Kosher or sea salt
2-3 tsp of capers, drained
4-8 Tbl unsalted butter

Add lemon, garlic, capers and salt to a small pot. Bring to a simmer. Add butter, 1 Tbl at a time and whisk until melted. Add enough butter to taste or until proper consistency is reached. If you want less fat and more sauce, add broth (vegetable or chicken) and thicken with cornstarch if necessary. I don’t make this everyday; I like to use the butter!

Saffron Risotto topped with Cod

On my last post, I made reference to a risotto I made. I didn't even think to include the recipe so here it is. Sorry about that!

Saffron Risotto topped with Cod

1 Tbl Olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped (or ½ large)
¼ - ½ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt
Few strands of saffron
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cup of Arborio rice
4 cups of organic vegetable or chicken broth, heated to just boiling
1 cup of chopped, fresh spinach
3-4 oz of cooked white fish per person (baked or grilled)

1. Heat large pot to med and add oil, onion and pepper. Cook until translucent.
2. Add salt, and saffron threads and stir, then add wine and cook until it is evaporated.
   
3. Add rice and cook for 1 minute.
4. Begin to add hot broth, 1/2 cup or more at a time. Stir every few minutes and add more broth when needed. Make sure rice is simmering but not boiling. Check after 20 minutes or when broth is used up. If you need more liquid, just add hot water.
5. Add spinach and stir. Cook for 3 minutes or until wilted.
6. Top risotto with cooked fish. Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.