Creamy “Tuna” Bake

Difficulty: Medium

Serves 6

You don’t often heard the words ‘creamy’ and ‘vegan’ used in the same sentence but I find myself marrying the two quite often. Creamy stuff is dope and when it’s done the vegan way it’s at least a little bit healthier. Tuna Bake is a classic family dish and you probably thought that once you ditched fish it would be out of your life forever, right? WRONG. This is well and truly one of my favourite dishes and I have to give my mother props for the recipe (I have tweaked it just a little).  I can’t wait to heat this bad boy up for lunch tomorrow!

Ingredients

• 500grams penne pasta
• 1/2 cup Nuttlex
• 2/3 cup flour
• 2/3 soy milk
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise
• Dash of lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 packet mock tuna, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C and grease a large ovenproof dish.
2. Cook the pasta, drain and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, melt the Nuttelex in the microwave.
4. Mix in the flour with a fork and heat in the microwave for a further 1 minute.
5. Gradually add the soy milk and whisk until thick.
6. Add the onion and garlic powders, spring onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
7. Add the pasta to the large bowl and mix through.
8. Now throw in the tuna and combine.
9. Pour the pasta mixture into the ovenproof dish and spread out evenly.
10. In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs, oil and herbs.
11. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top of the pasta.
12. Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the crumbs have gone golden brown.
13. Cut into large pieces and serve!