By Gail Foley

A long time ago, and far, far away, I was a teen working at J.L Hudson’s Department store. I learned to make my first casserole from Joanne, one of the ladies I worked with in the wrapping department. It was with some excitement, we would have a ladies’ night at her house and cook. This casserole is so rich and creamy with the salty flavors of tuna and the tang of the olives. It is a favorite even with those who don’t like tuna!

I don’t remember the origins of this recipe. I suspect it might have been from Kraft for the cream cheese. The closest recipe I found on the WWW is linked below. It was published in Sheila Metcalf’s, The Tuna Cookbook, in Jan. 1972, but I was making it two years earlier, in 1970. The original recipe did call for one can of tuna, but we always felt it was better with two cans. And the more olives the merrier! We didn’t bother with chives or the breadcrumb topping.

Serves 8

8 oz wide egg noodles

5 Tbsp butter

5 Tbsp flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

2 ½ cups milk

8 oz cream cheese, cubed

2 cans tuna (white solid albacore in water), drained and flaked

1 cup pimento stuffed green olives, sliced

6 oz (1 ½ cups) muenster cheese, grated OR sliced

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 2 quart (or 2 one quart) baking dish with canola oil spray. Cook noodles according to package directions.

Make white sauce. Add cream cheese and stir until melted. Stir in tuna and olives.

In prepared baking dish(es), layer ⅓ sauce, ½ of the noodles, and ½ of the Muenster cheese. Repeat. Top with remaining ⅓ sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes. Let set five minutes before serving.

This makes a full meal with a side salad, steamed broccoli or another fresh vegetable.

Eat one casserole now and freeze the other for later. Cool it and wrap well with saran wrap and foil..

Close to original recipe: http://www.recipe4all.com/recipe/Tuna-Romanoff-3290/

Tuna Romanoff

Tuna Romanoff

Serves 6

8          oz                    Flat egg noodles

2½       cups                 Medium white sauce

8          oz                    Cream cheese

1          (6 oz) can        Tuna; drained, flaked

½         cup                  Green olives; pimiento-stuffed, sliced

2          Tbsp                Chives

6          oz                    Muenster cheese; sliced

1          cup                  Bread crumbs

2          Tbsp                Butter; melted

Cook noodles according to package directions and drain. In saucepan, heat white sauce and add cream cheese, which has been cut into cubes. Cook and stir until the cheese has melted. Stir in tuna, olives, and chives. In a greased casserole, make layers of sauce, noodles, and Muenster cheese slices, starting and ending with sauce. Toss bread crumbs and butter together and sprinkle over casserole. Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes. 

From: The Tuna Cookbook, Sheila Metcalf, Doubleday, Jan 1, 1972