tuno casserole

Rachael, Annie, and I have all been sad since Kellogs discontinued Tuno when they took over Worthington. Eaters of real fish universally thought Tuno was disgusting--it did smell more like cat tuna than human-grade--but we thought it made an excellent tunafish casserole. I've been trying different homemade fake tunas ever since. I've had the best success with tuna salad, but still haven't found a way to replicate Tuno in a casserole.

I made this today, and it was pretty good but not very fishy-tasting. Maybe just add a lot more kelp powder?

Vegan Tuna Casserole

Tuna
1 1/2T soy sauce
1T rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, pressed
3T water
1 1/2t kelp powder
1lb extra-firm tofu, cut into 8 1/4"-thick rectangles

Canned Soup
2T margarine
8oz mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
5T flour
2C unsweetened soy milk
1/4t salt, pepper, and a pinch of mace

Casserole
Tuna and canned soup
8oz wide noodles, cooked
2C frozen peas, thawed
4 green onions, thinly sliced
a little bag of potato chips (2.5oz or so, smashed up in the bag

Mix all the tuna ingredients besides the tofu in the bottom of a shallow pan. Swoosh the tofu slices through the marinade so that they're coated on both sides, then arrange in one layer and bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes. Turn them over and bake for another 25 minutes, till they've sucked up all the marinade and are beginning to look dry. Let cool, then cut up into little rectangles--about 1.5cm x 0.5cm x 0.25cm.

Cook the mushrooms with the margarine in a medium, heavy saucepan till the mushrooms get limp. Add the celery and cook a few more minutes. Add the flour and stir around so that it's mixed in thoroughly. Add the milk and seasonings, and turn up to medium-high. When it begins to simmer, turn down and let cook till it thickens.

Mix the tuna, canned soup, noodles, peas, and green onions together in a big bowl then put in a greased casserole and bestrew with potato chip bits. Bake at 350ºF for 30-35 minutes, till hot and nicely colored.