Gluten Free Tuna Pasta Bake

Tuna pasta bake is my all time favourite dish so I had to re-create it gluten free/lactose free! I have to confess I used to use Colmans packet to make tuna pasta bake but alas it contains gluten and milk so I set out to make it myself with great results and it is so easy. I make it with lactose free ingredients but if you don’t need to then it works exactly the same with regular ingredients. This recipe makes about enough for four people:

Ingredients:

• 400g gluten free pasta
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons tomato puree
• 300ml lacto-free cream
• 2 tsp mixed herbs
• 2 x 190g tuna (in oil or brine it doesn’t matter)
• 120g grated lacto-free cheese

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5

First cook the pasta. I use Heinz gluten free pasta but Asda/Tesco own brand gluten free is good too. In many restaurants that I have visited as a coeliac; their gluten free pasta has left much to be desired because it is hard and chewy…it is so easy to cook gluten free pasta, it just takes a couple of minutes longer than regular pasta. Make sure the water is boiling first before you put the pasta in (and lightly salted), and I like to add a little oil to stop it sticking together, then cook it for about 15 minutes making sure to stir it a couple of times; have a taste just to make sure it is done.

Meanwhile heat a little bit of oil in a frying pan, any oil is fine, over a medium heat and cook the onion for about five minutes. Then add the tomato puree and the cream and stir it really well so that is all combined. Next add the herbs and the tuna and cook for about five minutes so that the mixture is warmed through.

When the pasta is cooked, rinse with boiling water and add to the tuna mixture, stir it through so that all the pasta is coated and season with salt and pepper. Cook for a further two minutes and then put the mixture into a oven proof dish and sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for ten minutes or until it is golden on top and serve straight away!