Casserole Days

by Dana Jacobi

The first casserole I ever ate was chicken, mushroom and artichoke hearts simmered with soy sauce and Sherry. I can still see it, bubbling hot, served right from the oven in a covered, round Pyrex dish.

I have long since forgotten the name of the graduate student, my beau of the moment, who served it up. He clearly thought cooking for me, using his mother's treasured recipe, would be sure seduction. It didn't work. His strategy didn't impress me any more than the casserole did.

I was a casserole innocent because of my mother. A follower of the era's health guru, Adele Davis, she also shunned cream sauces, frozen spinach soufflé, condensed soup, processed cheese and most other unhealthy culinary icons of the fifties and sixties. In place of casseroles and fatty skillet dinners, she mostly served roasted and broiled meats, which were considered healthier fare back then.

Fortunately, not long after this, my first post-college roommate, Betty Gorecki from Pulaski, Wisconsin, initiated me into the rites of making Tuna Noodle Casserole. Harboring none of my mother's prejudices, Gorecki, a home economics major at the University of Wisconsin, cooked frozen fish sticks regularly and believed in creamed spinach, making her white sauce from scratch. She also made a Bloody Mary hot enough to blister paint off the wall.

Late starters often surpass their teachers. In my case, I acquired a taste for casseroles, but usually adapted recipes to fit my mother's healthful values, as with this Tuna Casserole. Besides containing less fat, cholesterol and sodium than the original, it calls for double the amount of vegetables traditionally used. (I also prefer green beans in lieu of the traditional peas.)

Sometimes I also include shredded cheese, although it is omitted here.

Tuna Noodle Casserole - 4 servings

* Canola oil cooking spray
* 1 can (10 1/2 oz.) low-fat, reduced-sodium condensed cream of chicken soup
* 1/2 cup skim (non-fat) milk or unflavored soymilk
* 2 cups cooked noodles
* 1 package (10 oz.) frozen cut green beans
* 1 1/2 6-oz. cans water-packed chunk light tuna, drained
* 2 Tbsp. bottled pimientos, drained and chopped
* 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
* 3 Tbsp. dry bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Coat 2-quart heatproof casserole with cooking spray.

In prepared baking dish, mix soup and milk to combine. Add noodles, beans, tuna, pimientos and pepper, mixing to coat and combine them with soup. Cover pan with foil.
Bake until bubbling hot, about 20 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Bake until crumbs are lightly browned, about 8 minutes. Serve hot.
Per serving: 331 calories, 6 g. total fat (2 g. saturated fat), 42 g. carbohydrate, 26 g. protein, 5 g. dietary fiber, 704 mg. sodium.