Tuna Casserole with Roasted Eggplant

Don't be fooled by the look of this creamy glob of deliciousness. It may not have a pretty plating but the taste is worth it. I saw the original recipe on the back of a Campbell's Cream of Celery soup can and I had gotten a bunch of tuna from my last trip to Costco. I figured this was a good way to two use of those cans. Besides, tuna salad gets boring after a while. So here's my take on it. Rather than using curly egg noodles, I used small shell pasta.

Creamy, delicious, with some fresh herb-roasted veggies.



Tuna Casserole with Roasted Eggplant

2 5oz can tuna in oil.
1 small can Cream of Celery soup
2 medium eggplant (cubed)
1/2 medium onion (quartered and separated)
1/2 c milk or 1 small can of evaporated milk
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 large garlic cloves
1 Tbsp Dry Basil
1 Tbsp Dry Parsley (plus extra)
Salt
Pepper
2 c Pasta (of your choice. Rough estimate.) - I used small shells
1 c Panko Crumbs


Preheat oven to 450˚F

Toss the cubed eggplant and onions in a generous drizzle of olive oil with the dry basil, dry parsley, salt and pepper.

Place on a baking sheet or roasting pan along with one garlic clove at each end and put in the oven for 30-40 min.

While the eggplant is roasting, bring a stock pot full of water to a boil. Season the water liberally with salt and cook the pasta to al dente (roughly 10min). Then drain excess water.

Remove the oil, but not all from the tuna and shred the meat.

Once the pasta is done, place into a casserole and add in the cream of celery soup, milk and tuna. Mix thoroughly to combine.

When the eggplant and onion are done, add them into the pasta mixtures. Again mixing thoroughly to combine. Sprinkle the panko crumbs on top and some fresh or dry parsley.

Bake for 20min on a 400˚F oven.