INGREDIENTS
Half pound of extra wide egg noodles
1 can albacore tuna packed in water
1 C fresh-frozen spring peas
.5 C chopped baby portobello mushrooms
2 T butter for béchamel + 1 T butter for browning mushrooms + 1 T butter for greasing baking dish
2 T flour
1 C milk
.5 C grated Parmesan cheese
Salt + black pepper
TOOLS
Medium skillet
Medium stock pot
6”x9” baking dish
Wooden spoon
Tongs
Kitchen knife
Cutting board
METHOD
Preheat oven to 375°
Boil noodles in salted water to al dente – about 8 – 10 minutes; meanwhile:
In a deep skillet or medium stock pot, sautée chopped mushrooms in 1 T butter to brown (don’t crowd them in the pan – let each ‘shroom breathe so they don’t get wet); remove from pan and set aside.
Add 2 T butter to that still-hot pan over medium heat; add flour and combine with a wooden spoon for about 2 minutes, or until the flour mix becomes a light caramel color; add milk and mushrooms and stir to combine and heat till steaming; remove from heat.
Pasta should be just finished; reserve .25 C pasta water, then drain pasta and add frozen peas to pasta and toss to combine, then add pasta with peas to pan with the mushroom sauce; use a big wooden spoon or tongs to fold pasta into the sauce to combine everything.
Add S+P to taste and pour into a 6x9” buttered baking dish
Add grated Parmesan cheese over the top; bake for 8 to 12 minutes to heat through and brown the cheese — you can always turn on the broiler for a moment to speed the finishing process — but remember you want to just brown the cheese and crisp the edges without drying out the whole dish.