Fish casserole

We had only some canned mackerel and noodles, so put together a pretty tasty dinner!

Have on hand:

  Boiled egg noodles
  Prepared veggies of choice: steamed broccoli, or, e.g., a bag of frozen veg (peas, green beans, carrots)
  Sauteed or canned mushrooms (drained)
  Cans of fish: mackerel, tuna. Probably sardines, salmon, etc. would also work.

Then for Sauce:

  Yellow onion
  Herbs (ideas: basil, oregano, parsley. Summer savory. Or tarragon, dill. Whatever you like.)
  Butter
  White wine
  Flour

  Veggie broth

  Milk

Then for Topping:

  Bread crumbs

  Parmesan (or Gruyere, or other dry, salty, tasty cheese)

  Olive oil or melted butter

Start oven on "bake" at 200C.

Prepare a cup or so of veggie broth and add some splashes of white wine.

Make the sauce: saute onion and herbs in generous butter. When onion is soft, start whisking in flour until you get a thick, smooth paste. Slowly pour in veggie broth + wine combo and keep whisking until you get a smooth sauce of desired thickness (it will also thicken a little when it cools). Add splashes of milk to desired creaminess.

Now is the time to mash a bunch of the drained fish into the sauce! Mash mash mash. Or if tuna: flake flake flake. Don't be shy with the fish, I used four cans of mackerel last time, and could probably have used more. Tip: if it's packed in oil, I would completely drain, otherwise the dish is too heavy. But if it's packed in water, you could keep the juice to retain all the fish nutrients (of course, this will thin the sauce a bit so prepare the thickness accordingly).

Add veggies and mushrooms to sauce and mix. Add noodles and mix. Dump into casserole dish.

Make the topping: mix equal parts bread crumbs and cheese. Moisten with olive oil or melted butter, and stir to make sure all is moistened. Spread over casserole dish.

Bake for 20 mins or until topping is browned, crisp and bubbly.

I recommend serving with squirts of lemon juice. :)

Variation 1: This might work well with rice as well, but haven't tried it yet.

Tip: I would avoid sautee'ing the mushrooms with the onions, as I don't know if the water from the shrooms would interfere with the roux. But if someone tries it lemme know how it works out.