IN THE POT | CRUNCHY TUNA BAKE

We don’t eat a lot of fish in this house and it’s probably something I should rectify. We’re also not Catholic, but this past Good Friday I thought it a good excuse to try this recipe that I had found in the free magazine that gets delivered with our groceries.

Thanks to Kate mentioning a few weeks ago how she’s always amazed with all the food shots on Instagram how much green vegetable is lacking from people’s diets I’ve been thinking about how much it’s lacking from ours. (It’s scary true!!!)

I’d love to say we eat a lot of salads and fruits, but we don’t. The Little Man has the healthiest diet in the house because I make sure that he gets a mix of fruit and vegetables in all his meals, so why can’t I make sure we’re the same?

Anyway, with that thought in mind this recipe sang out to me. It has zucchini and broccoli in it – two green vegetables that I regularly avoid – and it has fish. Ticking all the boxes.

I must confess to a little bit of trepidation with this – I thought the tuna would be really overpowering and the zucchini too mushy – but in the end the dish was wonderful. The zucchini and broccoli don’t make me want to avoid them – in fact just the opposite I ate lots of them and because I stuffed up and only got one tin of tuna it wasn’t too bad either.

I did learn that I’m a fan of horseradish cream! I can’t think of any other time I’ve had it and in this dish I found it really enjoyable.

All in all a pretty good dish for a Good Friday.  I’m actually making this dish again this week and I’m adding it to our family meal rotation. Thanks Coles!

Crunchy Tuna Bake

500g Penne Pasta

2 x Zucchini, sliced

1 x Large Head of Broccoli, cut into small florets

2 x 300ml Thickened Cream (Can use a light version)

1 tbsp Horseradish Cream

2 x 425g Tuna in Oil, drained and flaked (we used a spring water version)

1½ cups fresh Breadcrumbs

⅓ cup finely grated Parmesan

1. Cook pasta as per packet instructions. Add zucchini and broccoli for the last 2 minutes of cooking time, or until pasta is al dente and vegetables are just tender. Drain in a colander.

2. Add cream and horseradish to pan and bring to boil. Return pasta and vegetables to pan with tuna.  Fold gently to combine. Transfer to a large shallow heatproof dish.

3. Sprinkle with the combined breadcrumbs and parmesan. Cook under a grill for 3-5 minutes, or until crisp.

Serves: 6

Note: I scattered shredded colby cheese over the top and then put the breadcrumbs on. I think in future I’m either going to only use fresh breadcrumbs that I’ve made or skip them altogether; it’s like eating saw dust with the packet stuff.

Source: Coles Magazine