Here is a recipe from 2009, as a kid I really liked Tuna Noodle casserole, know, but it was gooey and was like a warm hug. In my notes, I scrolled at the side "Michaels hates tuna noodle casserole", UGH! So there are lots of ingredients on the pad that I have crossed out until I pared it down to the ones now. I must have tested this dish when Michael was not around, but the notes on the back of the page were "he liked it".
I saw that everyone is posting comfort foods from their childhood so I thought it was time to post my variation on this classic childhood dish.
Ingredients
1 package of Gnocchi - 4 to 6 servings size
1 1/2 cups of leeks, thinly sliced, just the white and lite green parts
1 1/2 cups of Milk
2 6oz cans of tuna, the nice Italian kind in olive oil
2 cups of sliced mushrooms of choice, I used Crimini or Shiitake or both
1/2 cup of grated Gruyere Cheese
1/2 cup of grated Romano Cheese
1/2 cup of creme fraiche
1 stick of unsalted butter
2 tablespoons of flour
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon of fresh Dill, chopped and stems removed
1 teaspoon of Worchestershire sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
In a large deep skillet over med-high heat, melt 4 tablespoons of butter, then add the leeks and saute until nice and tender about 10 minutes, reduce heat if the butter starts to brown. Now add the flour and sautee for about a minute, next, pouring in slowly, whisk in the milk followed by the creme fraiche. Keep whisking until sauce starts to thicken, about 5 to 8 minutes, whisk in 1 teaspoon of the lemon juice and the zest, season, and remove from heat.
In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of butter, then add the mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes, once the water starts to release add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and the Worchestershire sauce and continue to saute until all the juices are gone the mushrooms start to sear. Remove from heat and set aside.
Next, cook the Gnocchi as directed but reduce the cooking time by half, reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Butter 4 to 6 large ramekins.
In a large bowl, add the Gnocchi, mushrooms, dill, tuna fish, and toss to combine. Now about pour in about 1/2 the leek sauce to start and add cheese and toss to combine. If the sauce is too thick add a bit of the gnocchi cooking water until the desired constituency, And if the combination looks too dry add more sauce.
In my notes, I have played with the amount of the sauce added to the dish, and some of the comments that were made when I served the dish. You can also serve the extra sauce in a gravy boat so everyone can add more sauce if they want.
Spoon into ramekins, place ramekins in a larger deep baking dish and add enough water to go halfway up the sides of the ramekins and bake for about 20 minutes until nice and gooey and its starts to turn golden brown. Remove and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.