A firm favourite in our household, this Tuna Pasta Bake is easy to make beforehand and can be kept in the fridge until we're ready to cook. It really is a great dish to cook for people
The wine could be optional but it really does give this dish a great lift so I'd recommend you keep it.
Preheat the oven to 180 C
In a large pan, add the oil and warm over a medium heat before adding the butter. Add the onion first and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Then add the olives and oregano and cook for a few minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for a further minute
Add the tomato puree to the pan and stir well to coat the vegetables and cook for a few minutes.
Now add the wine and cook for a minute or two to burn off the alcohol before adding in the flour and mixing together to make a thick paste. Allow the flour to cook for a minute or so
Now add in the milk gradually as you still want a thick sauce so you may not need all of the milk. If the sauce is too thick, add a dash more milk.
Add the tuna to the thickened sauce and stir carefully as you don't want to break the tuna up too much. Take the pan off the heat and allow to rest
Bring a pan of salted water and add the pasta and cook until al dente
When the pasta is cooked, drain with a colander and give a good shake to remove excess water
Butter an oven proof baking dish and then add in the pasta. Pour over the tuna sauce and give a good mix so that the pasta is covered with the sauce
Cover the dish with the grated Cheese
At this point you can cover the dish and place in the fridge until you're ready to cook it in the oven
Loosely cover the oven proof baking dish with tin foil and place into the preheated oven and bake for the first 20 minutes covered. For the last 15 minutes, remove the foil and bake uncovered to crisp up the cheese topping