This meal has swiftly become a staple in our house as it’s so easy to make and so full of flavour. With a crunchy breadcrumb crust this gluten free tuna pasta bake is perfect to warm you up on a cold and dreary day! A lot of the ingredients are interchangeable so you can tweak the recipe to suit your tastebuds but it’s unquestionably one of the highlights of our week! There’s also a number of ways you can cut some of the costs to make this meal more cost effective, while we use a piece of tuna steak it’s just as easy to substitute it for a drained can if you’d rather a quick and easy meal on a weeknight!
We love garlic in our household, to the point where we probably have it in almost every meal of the week (yummy for us, but not so great for anyone else who has to be near us). It’s just so good and adds such great flavour to almost every meal. When we visited Trevaskis Farm (a lovely farm, restaurant and shop which sells fresh produce and lots of gluten/dairy free bits) on the weekend, we couldn’t resist picking up a smoked garlic bulb. These garlic bulbs are specifically grown on the Isle of Wight and have such an amazing smoked smell that stands them apart from standard garlic. The smokey taste adds a whole new dimension to whichever meal you use it in, and is definitely worth buying if you ever come across it.
This tuna pasta bake is a little indulgent with its use of double cream, however the dish isn’t without its vegetable which are really important in making this meal as great as it is.
Ingredients:
For the pasta bake:
-250g of gluten free shaped pasta (I used penne)
-1 moderately sized tuna steak
-1 broccoli
-1 large leek
-Handful of garden peas
-2 cloves of smoked garlic (you can substitute this for a standard garlic)
– 3-4 tsp of thyme
-pinch of ground black pepper
-pinch of flaky salt
-1 ½ tbsp of gluten free plain flour
-1 knob of butter
-150ml light double cream
-1pt of semi-skimmed milk
For the topping:
-2 slices of gluten free bread
-1 broccoli floret
-1 tsp garlic granules
-1 tsp thyme
-A generous handful of your favourite grated cheese
Method:
-Start by bringing two medium sized pans of water to the boil, wash and cut the broccoli to form small florets and place in one pan for around 10 minutes until cooked. Cook pasta in the other pan according to packet instructions once cooked drizzle in olive oil so as they don’t stick together and set to one side.
-Place a deep based frying pan on a medium heat and place the tuna steak in the pan when hot to the touch.
-Cook the tuna on both sides until the segments can pull away from one another.
-Once cooked, remove the tuna from the pan and set aside in a bowl to flake with a fork until fish is sufficiently flaked, set to one side.
-In a large jug mix together the double cream and the milk and set to one side.
-In the frying pan melt the butter until the butter just begins to foam, add in finely chopped leeks and diced garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened and starting to brown at the edges.
-Tip the flour into the leek mixture and cook for a further minute until the leeks begin to take on one form, once it has done so add the milk mixture a little at a time, stirring on each occasion until you end up with a silky smooth sauce (note that you may not need to add all of the milk mixture.)
-Add in your seasoning of thyme, salt and black pepper; note that you may need to add more in order to suit your taste.
-In a food processor tear up the slices of bread and add in the garlic and thyme before adding in the cheese, pulse until you are left with a breadcrumb-like texture.
-In the frying pan combine the pasta and broccoli with the pasta sauce, at this point add in the frozen garden peas and stir to combine the mixture.
-Remove from the pan and turn into a casserole dish and add the topping to the pasta bake.
-Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes on 180c or until golden brown on the top.
