Thon en sauce Mornay - Tuna Mornay

Tuna Mornay is a great midweek meal idea. It’s quick to make, less stress for a a recovering mum with a full house of children. It takes a minimal of ingredients – most from the pantry. It can be served with a variety of side dishes, or none at all. And it’s great for dinner the next day, or lunches over a couple of days. It has nice simple flavours that are wholesome and creamy. It’s a nice way to spend a cool autumn evening, curled up on the couch with a bowl of tuna mornay fresh from the oven.

I really like sauce Mornay ... which is really just a bechamel (white) sauce that has cheese added to ... so for the everyday terms - a cheese sauce. It is a part of modern French cooking and was made famous by the Hot Brown Sandwich at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, KY USA ... but also in the dish called Tuna mornay or also called Tuna noodle casserole in some parts of the USA.

Here’s the ingredients & method I use …

• 1 1/2 cups Milk
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1 can tuna
• 500g pasta
• few knobs of butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 celery stick, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup AP flour
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• Handful of fresh parsely, chopped (optional)
• 100g gyuyere
• 100g garlic and herb creme cheese
• 1/2 cup Breadcrumbs
• sprig of fresh thyme1/2 tsp dried marjoram
• peas and/corn (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Drain the can of tuna and reserve the brine. Flake the tuna.
3. Heat butter in a pan. Add onion and celery. When onion and celery soften, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
4. Remove the pan from heat and gradually stir in the milk and tuna brine.
5. Return the pan over low heat until it boils and thinkens. Simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.
6. Stir in nutmeg, cream, herbs and half the cheese.
7. Remove from heat and stir in tuna.
8. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Spoon the mixture and cooked pasta into a baking dish.
10. Sprinkle the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs over the top.
11. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Do not over bake as it will dry out the sauce!

A dish even children will eat ... nice to add in extra veg of your choice ... for extra vits!

Notre petit pois!

Greetings of esalaams and joy to all my friends out in the Blogosphere!

Today, no recipes ... just pictures to share of our new little jilbena (sweet pea)! I am still recovering from the birth, life with the new baby and of course Eid ... so posts will be spaced out more but enchallah back to the norm soon!

Cry baby cry!

He is rather a quiet sleepy baby (unlike my first son) so I had to take these quick shots of him crying (so rare!)

Sister and brother love

Angel sleeping

Wishing everyone all my family and friends, out there a great day ... and also to all my family and friends a Merry Chirstmas - Joyeux Noël - Boldog Karácsony - καλά Χριστούγεννα - Buon Nataleo!

I would also to like present my friend Lynda's beautiful and tasty treats she brought to my house ... enchallah I will nag her enough to share with us on her blog the recipes .... ( I need them sis!!!) So goooooood!

I would like to invite everyone as I am taking a little breather now ... to take a look at the RECIPE INDEX to the right on the screen ... where I have updated all the recipes from my blog organized by category:

• Pt't Dej : breakfast and beverages

• Starters: Soups, snacks, sandwiches, appetizers and amusebouche

• Mains: All main courses including Beef, lamb, veal, all poultry, fish, seafood vegetarian and all side dishes

• Dough : All dough based dishes like pizza, pasta, tourtes, pies, tarts, quiches, pastries, etc
  
• Sweets : All desserts can be found here

• Back to Basics : All food information, how tos, sauces, spices and base recipes can be found here

• Mother's Magic Box : All natural and homemade remedies and ideas for the home
  

And please also take a look at the Eat Well and Live Well section ... where you can find so many blogs to search throu!

Tamina Algéroise (Gâteau de semoule au miel)

In celebration of my son Ibrahim's birth the famous traditional Algerian tamina was of course omni-presnt.

Here in Algeria, tamina ... also spelled tomina or tammina is an ancient recipe a specialty of eastern Algeria. But each region has its special way of preparing and presenting tamina. How to prepare it is almost similar but the tastes and textures are different. It is served at all religious festivals such as the Mawlid (celebration of the Prophet Mohammed's birthdate ... some celebrate this; we do not) and also happy events such as births and circumcisions.

Now I am sure you are wondering what is tamina?

It is an interesting and dangerously delicious dessert that can not be called a cake nor spoon sweet nor a pudding ... something rather unique. To me it tastes rather like a nutty graham cracker! It is made of toasted medium grain semolina or wheat flour (flour is durum wheat toasted and then ground fine and sifted) and butter and honey.

Tamina is also given also to restore strength to the new mother after giving birth ... but to also foster production of her milk.

It is certainly very caloric. I agree that calories matter, it's terrible, it has taken me a few years to enjoy its very sweetness ... now the problem is that when you take spoon you can not stop ...
Fortunately we are not invited for every day of birth but this time it's me who prepares it almost every week!

Other dishes served to the new mother is khbouz ifter, berkoukes, fried or chermoula liver and dates.

It has taken me a few trails to prefect the taste of my tamina ... I have found the secret is how long you roast the semoule (the longer the better - but do not burn it!) And using ream butter ... and more of it gives it the nice taste! Here I just present the basic formula for preparing tamina ... as usually tamina is prepared in large batches to serve several guests ... I have not seen (nor do this myself) prepare small batches for few servings of tamina) ...


Tamina Algéroise (Gâteau de semoule au miel)

• - 2 measure of semoule moyenne - medium grain semolina ( my one 1 measure = 250g)
• - 1 measure honey
• - 1 measure butter
• - 1 tsp cinnamon
  

- some tradtional and not tradtional optional flavourings to add:

• 1/4 cup Turk halva per 2 measures of semoule
• 1 TBS ma'zair (orange blossom water
• few drops of almond or hazelnut essence
• chopped nut of your choice
• desicated coconut and its essence
• even little melted chocolate - not too much thou

1. In a large pan without any fat, roast the semolina on low heat, stirring often with wooden spoon, until it reaches a golden color. This may take several minutes ... plz watch the grains so they do not burn. You will smell a very nice nutty aroma from the semoule as it roasts.
2. Remove from heat and set aside in a large bowl.
3. Melt in a saucepan the butter, honey with water, orange blossom and pour over the semoule. (Also now add the other flavouring if you are using them. I have found Turk halva gives the better, most interesting flavour ... almost like a bit of something nutty, almost peanuty in the tamina)
4. Mix well.
5. Divide among individual plates by spooning or pouring the still hot tamina into the plates.
6. Decorate as you like with cinnamon, sugar pearls, edibles decors, draguees, coconut,nuts; etc.

Trick:

Tamina is tradtional served in flat small dessert plates like below ... but I find it rather nice to serve them in small bowls or even glasses ...

Tamina is rather similar to the Moroccan dish Sellou ... but simpler preparation.

Eid Moubarek! - Bonne Fête!

My family and I would like to wish all our friends out in the Blogosphere a Happy Eid al Adha .... and Thanksgiving!

On Eid el Adha (el Kebir) we wish you all infinite happiness, united with family, around a table well equipped ... Allah among you in hearts and home ... his beloved people around the world we wish you all ...

Saha 3idkoum!!!

( saha ftourkoum!)