Tuna melt pasta bake

Apr 25

Apr 25 Tuna melt pasta bake

There are three things that taste good hot or cold: coffee, pizza and this pasta bake. Well, I'm sure there are others but I generally like the rule of three. Last Friday it was 29° and this Friday it'll be 14°. When the weather's this changeable, it's hard to know what to wear let alone eat. That's when the humble pasta bake comes into its own. When the sun is hot and blazing, enjoy this as a cold pasta salad. When it's cold outside, warm up your little portion of happiness until the cheese melts even more into the sauce. Yasss bliss ;)

I've been making this version for years now. The blend of penne or fusilli pasta, a creamy tomato-based sauce, tuna, sweetcorn and cheese is ridiculously yummy as it is but also makes for an infinitely customisable base to play with. Some of the extras I like to add include chopped red onion, black olives, roasted red peppers, fresh basil and/or baby spinach.

Pasta is one of those simple comforts, isn't it? The other day after work, Jess and I were lying on the couch and she was excitedly telling me a story, her eyes brimming with laughter. I had one of those out-of-body moments of gratitude. Happiness isn't usually in the big flashy moments for me. When my uni friends came to stay with me for the long weekend, happiness was the six of us sitting around my living room in pyjamas playing Cards Against Humanity (winning did not hurt) and then traipsing all over London the next day. Happiness was having drinks by the river with Jess. Going for dinner with Adi and Achu. Cooking for Iossie and Nelka while getting them hooked onto my new fav TV show. Standing at a free concert with Richa and resting my head on her shoulder as we swayed. Any number of phone calls to my family. Talking to Neethi until I fell asleep, night after night. Having both silly and serious chats with my colleagues over our desktops.

I’m in a phase where it feels like a lot of my happiness comes from being with people I love. However, I know the value of my own company. Sometimes happiness is as simple as taking a moment to breathe on the station platform, the breeze on my face, the sun on my hair and a good book in my bag.

This month, what were your small but significant moments of happiness?

Serves 4-6.

INGREDIENTS

200g penne or fusilli pasta
1 cup tomato passata*
2 tablespoons creme fraiche
2 can tuna chunks, drained
3/4 cup sweetcorn
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil or a small handful of fresh basil leaves, roughly shredded
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt, freshly ground pepper and red chilli flakes, to taste

Optional extras:

1/2 red onion, in half moons or diced
1/3 cup black olives, roughly chopped
1 or 2 handfuls baby spinach
1 roasted red pepper (from a jar), cubed

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Bring a medium pan of water to boil. Add the pasta along with a dash of salt. Cook for 8-9 minutes or until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, mix together the passata, creme fraiche, tuna, sweetcorn, any optional extras, dried herbs and 1/2 cup cheese in a large bowl.

When the pasta is cooked, drain well and add to the mixture.

Season well with salt, freshly ground pepper and about 1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes, adjusting to taste.

Spoon and level into a large ovenproof dish and then scatter with the remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake for 20 minutes.

Serve hot and store any yummy leftovers in the fridge.

Notes: Aldi do a wonderful tomato passata (it comes in two flavours, garlic or basil and oregano, and both work really well). Alternatively, Dolmio do individual sachets of tomato sauce - the tomato and basil one is perfect for this.