In my childhood (which, I suppose, means the 1950s and 60s), everyone’s mother made creamed tuna. It was quick and easy and it got rid of leftovers. It’s one of those things you groaned about as a child, and then called home to get directions for after you went away to college. This is the absolutely classic version - nothing added, nothing removed.
Mom, you’d be pleased to know that your grandson Valentine Michael is an excellent maker of creamed tuna. And there's no need to discuss the Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup heresy here. You and Diana can work that out in the hereafter.
INGREDIENTS:
10 slices of bread (preferably the heels from several odd loaves hanging about in the breadbox)
two eggs
enough butter for the toasted bread
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups of milk (or 1 can evaporated milk and 1 can of water)
2 cans of tuna (packed in water not oil)
leftover peas (you can use canned or frozen peas, but it tastes more authentic if they’ve been sitting in the fridge a day or two.)
salt, pepper, paprika
PROCEDURE:
- Put the eggs on to boil. When they are hard-boiled - eight minutes in normal altitudes, ten minutes in Colorado - cool them under cold water and peel them.
- Set someone (like a spouse or a child or an intimate personal friend) to toasting and buttering the bread. If you try to do this yourself, you’ll end up with lumpy white sauce.
- Open the cans of tuna. Don't drain them. If you are using frozen peas, open the bag now. Measure out the milk. Find the seasoning jars and put them on the counter. (This is called "prep".)
- Melt the 2 T. butter or margarine in a large skillet over low heat and add the flour,
stirring briskly (with a whisk or a fork) to make a paste. Let the flour cook a couple of minutes. Then slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens. Don’t let yourself be distracted by the toaster, the TV, or the two-year-old’s temper tantrums.
- Add the seasonings, then add the tuna, liquid and all, to the sauce. Now add the peas.
- Chop your eggs into the sauce. I do this by holding an egg in my hand and slicing it lengthwise, then turning it and slice it lengthwise from the other side, then slice it the short way directly into the sauce.
- Stir it all together and let it simmer over a very low heat for four or five minutes.
- Serve over slices of toast on each person’s plate.