Tuna Cornbread Pie

 

One thing I really love is Vintage Cookbooks. I have a great love for these old recipes which formed the backbone of what we consider to be modern cookery today.   Because of this I have collected a few vintage cookbooks, and I like to cook recipes from out of them occasionally.

Today's recipe comes from the Good Housekeeping Cookbook which was published in 1963. I purchased my copy from Thrift Books.  It was in excellent condition.

Book is full of recipes and knowledge for beginning cooks or to enlighten a seasoned chef. There are 805 pages, 40 sections, and 3500 recipes. All tested by the Good Housekeeping institute. If you are also a person who enjoys vintage recipes, then you might also enjoy this book!

 

This Tuna Cornbread Pie recipe intrigued me. I love tinned tuna, and I love discovering new ways to use it.  It involved creating a creamy tuna mixture which is spread into a pie tin, lined with thin lemon slices. This gets covered with a layer of cornbread and then baked.

The tuna layer comes out of the oven with a texture which closely resembles a soufflé.  The cornbread layer is light and fluffy.  The two together are quite nice.  It is a pretty basic recipe. I always like to make things as written the first time. I have suggested some improvements which could be made below in my recipe notes.

It did make rather a lot for just me, but no worries, I took half of it over to my next-door neighbor who was most appreciative!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE TUNA CORNBREAD PIE

Just a few simple store cupboard ingredients. This is super simple to make.

• 12 thin lemon slices
• 1 7-oz (198.5g) tuna, drained and flaked
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (1 slice of bread)
• 2 TBS grated onion
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 (10.5 oz/297g) tin of condensed mushroom soup, undiluted
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 package corn bread or corn muffin mix (see notes below)
• parsley to garnish

 

Scrub your lemon really well to get rid of any nasties. If your knife is really sharp it should be very easy to cut it into really thin slices.

I used a can of solid albacore tuna, drained well and then flaked.  My cats always come running every time they hear me opening a can of tuna. I don't know why as I never give them any of it! Perhaps they can smell it.

I grated my slice of bread on the side of a box grater to make my breadcrumbs. The onion was the equivalent of a small onion peeled and grated. If you don't want to grate it, simply finely mince.

There is no getting around the soup and the eggs. They are what combine to make the souffle-like tuna mousse on top.

I used a package of Jiffy corn muffin/bread mix. If you cannot find this in your supermarket, I have included instructions in the recipe notes to make your own version from scratch.

 

HOW TO MAKE TUNA CORNBREAD PIE

This is pretty basic and very simple to make. There is nothing complicated here.

Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 10-inch pie plate really well. Arrange the lemon slices in the pan.

Whisk the flaked tuna, bread, soup, eggs, grated onion and seasoning together until well combined. Spoon this mixture carefully over top of the lemon slices, smoothing it out.

Prepare the cornbread according to the package directions. Spoon this mixture into the pie dish on top of the tuna mixture, again spreading it out. This should be done carefully so as not to overly disturb the tuna mixture.

 

Bake in the preheated oven for35 to 40 minutes, until everything is completely set. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. If it is browning too quickly, loosely cover with a piece of foil.

Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.

Run a knife around the edge of the pie if necessary. Place a large plate over the pie plate and carefully invert the pie onto the plate, tuna side up. Sprinkle with parsley and cut into wedges to serve.

 

Notes

To make your own corn muffin mix to use in this recipe you will need:

2/3 cup plain all-purpose flour (83g)

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (polenta) (85g)

1/3 cup granulated sugar (63g)

1 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS vegetable oil or melted butter

Combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl until evenly mixed together. Proceed as per the above recipe, using this as the cornbread mix, adding 1/3 cup (80ml) milk and 1 egg.

 

This was interesting to say the least. I don't think it was my absolute favorite as written, but I can see where a few changes would lift it over the top to being really delicious. By perhaps adding some minced bell peppers to the tuna base, or celery, perhaps an herb and some grated cheddar cheese. That would give it a lot more flavor.

Having said that, it did taste nice.  The cornbread layer went very well with the tuna mixture.  I think another thing you could do to improve it would be to add a tasty sauce to nap over top. Either a cream sauce or a butter lemon sauce. (I have added the link to my recipe for that in the recipe card description.)

 

I have always loved tinned tuna. It is a very versatile and delicious store cupboard ingredient to have around. Here are a few other ways that I enjoy preparing it.

CLASSIC TUNA MELT - This is one of my favorite sandwiches to enjoy. Tuna melts don't have to be filled with calories and fat and light tuna melts don't have to be lacking in flavor! Try this one and I guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised!

CLASSIC TUNA CASSEROLE - This easy tuna casserole is probably something most of us grew up on. You can try to fancy these things up as much as you want, but the heart still wants what it wants. You just cannot beat the classics. Tuna, pasta and cheese in a creamy base with peas and a potato chip topping.

Yield: 4 - 5 servings

Author: Marie Rayner

Tuna Cornbread Pie

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 40 MinInactive time: 10 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

This vintage recipe makes a delicious bake that is topped with a lemon glazed tuna souffle on a cornbread base. I think a butter lemon sauce would be nice spooned over top. I served with some peas on the side.

Ingredients

• 12 thin lemon slices
• 1 7-oz (198.5g) tuna, drained and flaked
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (1 slice of bread)
• 2 TBS grated onion
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 (10.5 oz/297g) tin of condensed mushroom soup, undiluted
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 package corn bread or corn muffin mix (see notes below)
• parsley to garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/ gas mark 6. Butter a 10-inch pie plate really well. Arrange the lemon slices in the pan.
2. Whisk the flaked tuna, bread, soup, eggs, grated onion and seasoning together until well combined. Spoon this mixture carefully over top of the lemon slices, smoothing it out.
3. Prepare the cornbread according to the package directions. Spoon this mixture into the pie dish on top of the tuna mixture, again spreading it out. This should be done carefully so as not to overly disturb the tuna mixture.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for35 to 40 minutes, until everything is completely set. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean. If it is browning too quickly, loosely cover with a piece of foil.
5. Leave to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
6. Run a knife around the edge of the pie if necessary. Place a large plate over the pie plate and carefully invert the pie onto the plate, tuna side up
7. Sprinkle with parsley and cut into wedges to serve.

Notes

To make your own corn muffin mix to use in this recipe you will need:

2/3 cup plain all-purpose flour (83g)

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal (polenta) (85g)

1/3 cup granulated sugar (63g)

1 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 TBS vegetable oil or melted butter

Combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl until evenly mixed together. Proceed as per the above recipe, using this as the cornbread mix, adding 1/3 cup (80ml) milk and 1 egg.

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