Tuna Gratin
ツナグラタン
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
Gratin is a favorite on Japanese preschool lunch menus, and this tuna version is one children reliably clean their plates of. Canned tuna and macaroni are folded into a mild, creamy white sauce made from scratch with butter, flour and skim milk powder, then baked until the panko and Parmesan on top turn golden and crisp. Slowly cooking the onion until it sweetens is what gives the sauce its gentle flavor without needing much salt.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 27 gcanned tuna in oil
- 7.5 gmacaroni
- 45 gonion
- 4.5 gflour
Seasonings
- 3.8 gunsalted butter
- 7.5 gskim milk powderMilk with the fat and water removed. Substitute: No skim milk powder? Leave it out and use milk in place of the water it is dissolved in, in the same amount (for example, 30 g skim milk powder + 130 g water becomes 130 g milk). Milk still contains milk, so this swap is not for a milk allergy.
- 63 gwater
- 0.2 gsalt
- 1.5 gpanko
- 1.4 ggrated Parmesan cheese
- 0.2 gdried parsley
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- skim milk powder (スキムミルク)
- Milk with the fat and water removed. Substitute: No skim milk powder? Leave it out and use milk in place of the water it is dissolved in, in the same amount (for example, 30 g skim milk powder + 130 g water becomes 130 g milk). Milk still contains milk, so this swap is not for a milk allergy.
Directions
Video is in Japanese and may show a different version of this dish (other ingredients or steps). Follow the ingredients and steps on this page, especially when cooking for allergies.
- 1
Thinly slice the onion and cut the slices in half. Drain the oil from the canned tuna. Boil the macaroni.
- 2
Melt the butter in a pot over low heat, add the onion and sauté. Once it starts to turn golden brown, turn off the heat for a moment, add the flour and stir it in.
- 3
Dissolve the skim milk powder in lukewarm water and add it a little at a time, stirring over low heat until the sauce thickens. Season with salt to taste.
- 4
Pour into a baking pan lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with the grated Parmesan cheese and panko, and bake in a 200°C (390°F) oven for about 15 minutes.
- 5
Once baked, plate and sprinkle with dried parsley.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 192 kcal | 384 kcal | 192 kcal |
| Protein | 9.9 g | 19.8 g | 9.9 g |
| Fat | 9.9 g | 19.8 g | 9.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 17.7 g | 35.4 g | 17.7 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.6 g | 1.2 g | 0.6 g |
| Calcium | 115.5 mg | 231 mg | 115.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.5 mg | 0.9 mg | 0.5 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 192 kcal | 9.9 g | 9.9 g | 17.7 g | 0.6 g | 115.5 mg | 0.5 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 384 kcal | 19.8 g | 19.8 g | 35.4 g | 1.2 g | 231 mg | 0.9 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
