This meal is one my mum used to make (with a white bechamel sauce), and I have adapted it to make it even easier, as I don’t have the patience for bechamel sauce, nor do I think feeding my family on butter, flour and milk in large quantities is good for you, unless it’s for dessert (and then it’s awesome).

This dish is an emptly larder dinner – ie one of those dinners you can always make when all the rest of the food has run out. I never measure it, and so it’s different every time. So take my measurements here as approximations. If you have more, add it. If you have less, substitute something else it.

I make the dinner into two meals, and freeze one for later. I find this dish costs almost nothing, and the kids love to eat it. Furthermore, it tastes great even after being frozen and reheated. I ususally get a few meals, and some lunches out of this. Gotta love that! And for the cost of a tin of tuna, coconut cream and other things that we always have in the freezer, it beats any take-away hands down.

Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large tin tuna
• 1-2 large brown onions
• 1 can coconut milk or cream
• 1-2 cups frozen peas
• 1-2 cups frozen corn
• 1 – 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 3-4 cups rice, cooked
• Salt/pepper to taste
• Enough cheese to grate on top (we use anything left over in the fridge)

What you will need

• A saucepan or wok
• 1  or 2 baking dish’s (this is up to you. I use glass Pyrex baking dishes, and then you can pop them in the oven or freezer)

What to do

1. Cook the rice (it’s amazing how often I forget this really important step)
2. Heat the oil and then brown the onion
3. Add the tuna, peas and corn
4. Add the coconut milk and curry powder
5. Add salt and pepper to taste
6. Heat enough to defrost the vegetables, and mix the ingredients, and then turn off
7. Spread the rice on the bottom of the baking dish to half the height
8. Spread the tuna mix on top (I make 2 dishes with this mix)
9. Cover with grated cheese

I then cover these, one goes into the freezer once it has cooled and the other into the fridge for one evening’s dinner

1. To cook, make sure it has defrosted (yes, you will need to take it out of the freezer on the morning you wish to eat it)
2. Bake in a warm oven (180 degrees C) for 1/2 an hour, or until the cheese is golden

For us, this serves two dinners for 4 people, and often a few lunches as well.