How typically do you stray from custom in relation to recipes? Would you say you’re a rule follower or a riffer?
Cooking is all about clocking up time within the kitchen. Simply as a pilot will chart well-mapped programs as they’re studying to unfold their wings, following tried and true recipes to the letter is a secure and efficient option to construct up confidence earlier than you unfold yours.
However in case you’re a long-time follower who’s able to take to the sky, the most effective place to begin is someplace acquainted, then whack on a twist, as a result of even the recipes you thought had been canonical typically began with a riff.
Take tuna mornay, for instance.
If you happen to grew up in Australia, you’ll most likely be shocked to study that tuna mornay is just a “factor” for us – and just for the final 80-odd years. For the French, sauce mornay – bechamel with grated cheese – is normally reserved for slathering over seafood similar to lobster. In Italy, birthplace of pasta, seafood and cheese are an unholy union. It’s the anglophones who appear to be cool with pairing creamy sauce and canned fish. Tuna pasta bakes and casseroles, that are tuna mornay by a much less fancy-schmancy title, are widespread in North America and the UK.
One benefit of being down underneath is we’re far sufficient away from the European culinary cannon to play just a little sooner and looser with the classics. Of each Cucina Australiana – or elsewhere.
So why not riff on a riff? Convey the most effective bits of a mornay – creamy, comforting, fuss-free – then remove the margin of gluggy error by changing the bechamel with a crème fraiche, add zip and zest with my very versatile PGAL (a paste of parsley, garlic, anchovy and lemon that you just’re going to need to unfold and stir by means of every little thing) and freshen it additional by incorporating the accoutrement from one other conventional tuna dish: the niçoise.
Normally a niçoise is bulked out with spuds; as an alternative the crunchy high right here is none apart from crushed-up potato crisps! I bought the inspiration for this from a reader known as Sue, who emailed to ask if I’d tried it. Pricey reader, when you’ve tried this, it’s fairly exhausting to return to plain previous panko.
Alice Zaslavsky’s tuna niçoise mornay
Serves 4-6
1 can (425g) tuna in olive oil, drained, reserving the oil
50g black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained (I used lilliput in salt, however any will do)
80g gruyere, grated
200ml crème fraiche
500g dried brief pasta (shells all the time work properly right here)
200g inexperienced beans, topped and chopped to pea measurement
For the PGAL (parsley, garlic, anchovy and lemon) paste
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, washed and stems trimmed
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3-4 good-quality anchovies, together with the oil
1 lemon, zest and juice
Reserved tuna oil
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ tsp freshly floor black pepper
For the chippie crumb
100g packet potato chips/crisps of your selection
50g butter, room temp
50g gruyere, grated
Convey a big pot of well-salted water to the boil and preheat the oven to 160C fan (180C standard).
To make the PGAL paste, pop all the elements right into a meals processor and blitz to a clean paste. Go away within the meals processor till wanted.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix the tuna, olives, capers, grated cheese, crème fraiche and blend to mix, breaking apart the tuna into chunks. Examine for seasoning and alter if wanted.
To make the crumb topping, pop chippies (crisps), butter and cheese into one other bowl and squish collectively together with your fingers to interrupt up the chips, rubbing within the butter and cheese to type a crumb texture.
As soon as the pasta water is on the boil, add the pasta to the pot, stir about for the primary minute or so to maintain it from clumping, then cook dinner for one minute lower than the packet’s directions. Earlier than draining the pasta, pop your inexperienced beans within the backside of a colander. Drain the pasta over the beans (this can give them a swift blanch to take the squeaky edge off) and toss each pasta and beans again within the pot, together with all the tuna elements and PGAL paste. Stir every little thing collectively properly and examine for seasoning.
Pour right into a baking dish and high with the chippie crumb. Place within the oven for 10 minutes till golden and bubbly.
The dish will probably be super-hot, so take care when getting it out of the oven. Serve instantly with a easy salad on the aspect.
