Tuna pasta bake

Caroline Marson: Food writer

This recipe is the ideal easy supper for families, children especially like the simple flavours. It's a great standby to have on your list of dishes to do when you have nothing in the fridge as all the ingredients can be found in your storecupboard or freezer. Use any pasta that you have in the storecupboard but bows, penne or macaroni work best.

Ingredients: serves 2 - 4

4 spring onions (or 1 small onion, finely chopped)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 x 185 g tins of tuna
125 g frozen peas
125 g sweetcorn
600 ml milk
25 g plain flour
25 g butter
125 g cheese (grated)
squeeze of lemon juice
1 tsp mustard
300 g pasta

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160°C / 325°F / Gas Mark 3. In a frying pan stir fry the onions for 1-2 minutes in a little oil. Drain the tuna well, and flake into a bowl. Cook the pasta in a pan of boiling water for about 10 minutes or until just cooked. Add the frozen peas and sweetcorn to the pan 5 minutes before the end of cooking.
To make the sauce, place milk, flour and butter in a small saucepan and whisk continuously over medium heat until the sauce begins to boil and thicken. Turn down the heat to its lowest and let the sauce cook for 2 minutes. Add the grated cheese and mustard, keeping a little cheese back for the topping. Season with a little lemon juice.
Mix the pasta with the vegetables, spring onion, tuna and cheese sauce and pour into a lightly oiled ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and bake in a preheated oven until golden on top, about 25 minutes. Serve with steamed green beans or broccoli.

Recipe tips:

Other canned fish such as salmon and sardines would work well. Or flake in smoked trout or cooked salmon fillet. For a more sophisticated palette, add some ripe chopped tomatoes, black pitted olives, 2-3 chopped anchovies, a tablespoon of capers and some chopped basil.