How to make a cheese sauce from scratch how to#
How to make a cheese sauce from scratch mac#

Cook the noodles just until al dente and still somewhat firm, about 2 minutes less than the package directions. I use egg noodles in this casserole but a shell, sprial, or short tube pasta works too. To avoid clumps, make sure the milk is very cold and add the milk into the roux, whisking swiftly as you do.Ĭook the noodles before adding to the tuna casserole. Start with equal parts butter and flour that is cooked to lose it’s floury taste with milk added in.

Béchamel is a French style white cream sauce made from butter and flour and cooked into a roux, with milk added to thicken into a lush, silky cream sauce.

How to make a cheese sauce from scratch how to#

How to Make Tuna Noodle Casserole From Scratch Grated provolone, or other white melty cheese like mozzarella, fontina, gruyere, Monterey Jack or Italian blend.Here’s what’s in this comfort food classic: For the Béchamel Cream Sauce: I also replaced Chef Peel’s tuna confit with canned tuna from my pantry but I did keep his crispy topping. Then, because his casserole was on the plain side, I gussied it up with my mom’s addition of olives and peas. In this recipe, I replaced the canned soup called for in my mom’s version to make a tuna noodle casserole from scratch with Chef Peel’s béchamel sauce from his recipe. And the crunchy bread crumb topping is the perfect compliment to the creamy, cheesy noodles.Ī mix and match affair, this is how I used both of their noodles to create my own easy, homemade tuna noodle casserole from scratch.The sliced olives give a pickled spunk to each bite.There’s no canned soup! Instead, this homemade sauce makes a noodle casserole that’s lush and silky instead of clumpy and goopy.Here’s what I like best about this recipe: I may not live in Los Angeles anymore, but I can still eat like I do. So when she told me she was whipping up a tuna noodle casserole to cure my dad’s cravings, I was happy to hear she hadn’t completely given up her cooking chops yet.įor this tuna noodle casserole recipe, I took inspo from my mama’s recipe and combined it with a recipe from the New Classic Family Dinners cookbook by the chef of Los Angeles’s storied Campanile restaurant. But my mom does still have a handful of recipes up her culinary sleeve. Being retired and with nobody at home but her and my dad, it’s easier for them to go out on lunch date or dinner rather than cook a big meal for two. My mom has given up cooking and I can appreciate why. Grate the cheese and stir in until it’s melted.Home cooked comfort is what the best classic tuna noodle casserole is all about, and this one tastes even better thanks to pantry staples and a super simple from scratch sauce.

Cook for another minute or so, stirring occasionally. Keep going until the mixture is lovely and smooth, and there are no lumps.

Gradually add the milk, stirring as you go and ensuring each new addition is fully incorporated before adding the next.

Stir in the flour for 1 minute to make a paste – this is called the roux.

When the butter has melted, add the flour.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium heat.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to basic cheese sauce:

Take your cheese sauce up a level by adding garlic, thyme, rosemary or bay leaves, mustard, a grating of nutmeg or plenty of freshly ground black pepper – it’s a great vehicle for other flavours. The trick is to get the sauce silky smooth, which is easy to do as long as you add the milk gradually, stirring constantly so that each new addition is fully incorporated before adding the next.

How to make a cheese sauce from scratch mac#

Whether you’re making a Killer Mac ‘n’ Cheese, a comforting lasagne or a cauliflower cheese, you’ll need to know how to make cheese sauce.