A riff on a riff on a riff - tuna mornay
- rosemary
- Jun 24
- 6 min read
"Even the recipes you thought were canonical often started with a riff." Alice Zaslavsky
I've gone back to my Ideas list with tuna mornay - a recipe and comments, from Alice Zaslavksy in The Guardian newsletter, which I shall come to.
This is not her version - it's Salmon or tuna bake from The Country Women's Association of Woy Woy on the central coast of NSW. Because this apparently is a purely - no not purely - Australian dish. And taking Alice Zaslovsky's comment about riffing, it's a riff on a riff, because it simultaneously goes back to the roots of the recipe in America with the tinned soup, and riffs by using rice rather than pasta and there's no cheese on top. So no it's not really tuna mornay as most Australians know it.
Australian? Yes, nobody else calls this dish tuna mornay, although it's origins are in America where it is called tuna bake or casserole. In England too.
"If you grew up in Australia, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that tuna mornay is only a “thing” for us – and only for the last 80-odd years. For the French, sauce mornay – bechamel with grated cheese – is usually reserved for slathering over seafood such as lobster. In Italy, birthplace of pasta, seafood and cheese are an unholy union. It’s the anglophones who seem to be cool with pairing creamy sauce and canned fish." Alice Zaslavsky
The accompanying photo to that quote is the Women's Weekly version of Tuna mornay - another traditional home cooking institution. Inspired by these very humble sources, I dug out my Park Orchards School recipe book and there indeed were three different versions - Tuna noodle casserole, which used a can of cream of celery soup; Rice and tuna casserole which was very basic - rice, tuna, white sauce, onion and celery plus cheese; and Salmon rice casserole - Broccoli instead of celery, and some parsley, lemon juice and rind as well as the basic white sauce and cheese. Riffs on riffs.
I confess this and the similar fish pie were not dishes that we were served at home in England. Jamie Oliver sort of does it - there are a couple of Jamie associated recipes shown below, and Ottolenghi also has two goes - one - Allium tuna pasta bake with crisp topping has it's recipe online but the other - Orzo and tinned tuna pasta bake with kalamata olives is on Instagram with a picture only.
And to be honest Ottolenghi's Allium tuna pasta bake is the only one, that really looks like what Australia thinks of as Tuna mornay. I mean they're not creamy are they? Tomatoes seem to be the thing over there.
Heather Arndt Anderson wrote an article on the American Taste website called A brief history of tuna casserole in which she tells us that it's origins are the 30s (I think) in the state of Washington when:
"The introduction of Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup in 1934 was the game-changer that cemented tuna casserole’s place in the American housewife’s culinary arsenal."
going on to say:
"The “no skill required” might be why it is so maligned, but if done with even the smallest amount of care or intent ... it has all of the elements of any legitimate comfort food"
Which is probably why it inevitably appears in charity, amateur cookbooks.
The Australian Food Time Line website tells us how it became truly Australian:
"Although recipes for the American-style dish using canned mushroom soup were published in Australia in the 1950s, the local versions tended to use a homemade white sauce as a base."
Which is perhaps how it came to be called tuna mornay. Over time it became a fast, cheap and easy dish for the busy mum to make for her starving kids, and also a popular student dish:
"It had everything a student needed; it was cheap, easy to cook, had no vegetables (we were living out of home, why would we eat vegetables?) and was carbohydrate-heavy enough to fill the tummy before a big night out." Alison Adams/Taste
'No vegetables' is an interesting one, because the American versions seemed to lean into corn and peas, and as I said the British seemed to favour tomatoes - already riffs on the canned mushroom soup. Modern versions too, seem to be into many vegetable varations. And back in 2021 Matt Preston decreed that there was a return to 'creamy':
"Two new trends are thronging the ether demanding attention, and getting it – the arrival of “dump dinners” and the return of “creamy” as a desirable adjective when it comes to food." Matt Preston/delicious.
(I'll look into 'dump dinners' whatever they are, some other time.)
It seems almost ridiculous to talk about authenticity when you're talking about dishes concocted by food companies, to promote their products, and which include a whole array of tins, packets and jars. Although that said, today's classics or a large proportion of them are peasant food, or food devised by cash-strapped cooks to feed their children. Those crispy toppings that feature in Australian tuna mornay, for example, range from cornflakes - the original America version I think, through breadcrumbs, panko breadcrumbs, and crisps. Anything crunchy really. I saw somebody suggest stuffing. I guess the fundmentals are tinned tuna, creamy sauce, pasta and cheese with crunch on top. From there you riff, and it's something that Alice Zaslavsky thinks the Australians are particularly happy to do because:
"One advantage of being down under is we’re far enough away from the European culinary cannon to play a little faster and looser with the classics. Of both Cucina Australiana – or elsewhere." Alice Zaslavsky
As for authenticity she advises:
"following tried and true recipes to the letter is a safe and effective way to build up confidence before you spread yours. [wings that is - ed.] But if you’re a long-time follower who’s ready to take to the sky, the best place to start is somewhere familiar, then whack on a twist, because even the recipes you thought were canonical often started with a riff."
She herself, is prone to riffing as well, as the two recipes of hers, that I found online were different from each other - Tuna mornay - on the ABC and Crisp-topped tuna niçoise mornay - Alice Zaslavsky for The Guardian - the one which sparked my interest.
So herewith a selection of recipes - although you will probably cover the whole range of possibilities if you just go to Taste Australia's Tuna mornay options. I've tried to sort the very simple from the fancier below, but now can't really remember which was which. First the more 'normal': from Alison Adams for Taste - Tuna mornay ; Tuna mornay - Nagi Maehashi/Recipe Tin Eats; a very basic Coles recipe - Tuna mornay bake; another one from Coles - One pot tuna mornay pasta and Supercharged tuna mornay - Simple Home Edit.
Then there are three more that are slightly classier perhaps, but then again maybe not: Tuna mornay - Sarah Pound/The Guardian (the Australian one); Tuna pasta bake - Curtis Stone - well he does live in America, so perhaps this was for them rather than for Coles and Supergreen chilli tuna mornay pasta bake - Georgina Esdaile/delicious.
If you keep on riffing you start to stray further and further away from the original although there is no shame in that. Indeed this is experimentation and innovation - Tuna mornay balls - Claire Brookman and Lucy Nunes - in this vein I also saw some rissoles, slices, jacket potatoes ... Or you can start veering the other way and ignoring the baking and the tuna to turn the idea of fish and a creamy sauce into Cream cheese, smoked salmon and smoked trout pasta sauce - Kirsten Jenkins. Maybe this is really a step too far to be truly considered related. Although it sort of is.
I have never attempted this dish and I suspect I never will, because - to continue suspecting - I don't think David is really into tuna. I do have some tins of tuna lurking in the pantry however, so I should do something with them.
YEARS GONE BY
June 24
2023 - Nothing
2021 - Delivering food to you
2020 - Deleted
2018 - What to do with failure
2017 - Nothing
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