Pressure Cooker Tuna Noodle Casserole is absolutely the best around. Fresh cream, mushrooms, celery add layers of flavor to bring back childhood memories.
Select Sauté/Browning on your Pressure Cooker cooking pot and allow to fully heat
Add celery, onions and mushrooms to food processor and process until small pieces (like minced).
Add butter, the minced celery, onions and mushrooms to cooking pot and let sweat/sauté for 5 minutes.
Add potato starch, salt and pepper and mix through veggies for about 30 seconds, or until starch is fully incorporated. Add sherry and deglaze pot.
Pour in cream and simmer about 5 minutes, or until thick.
Whisk in mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and chicken broth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper, if needed. It should be a bit slightly over seasoned.
Mix in tuna and dump in noodles.
Lock on lid and close pressure valve. Cook at high pressure for 1 minute. When beep sounds, wait 2 minutes, then carefully release the rest of the pressure.
Remove lid and mix in frozen peas.
Optional Topping
Turn off pressure cooker. Sprinkle the cheese and crushed crackers over the top of the casserole.
Place the Crisping Lid on top of the pressure cooker and set the temperature to 400° F. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until the topping begins to brown.
Notes
Cremini mushrooms add the best flavor. The white or button mushrooms don't have much of a flavor. Mincing the mushrooms works much better than slicing them. I tried them sliced and minced and minced really add a special value to this dish.Using a food processor for mincing is a huge time saver. The onions, mushrooms and celery can all go in at the same time.Any type of pasta or semolina noodle is fine to use in this recipe. If using a different shape of pasta or noodle, your cook time may be different.This Old Gal's Pasta Rule of Thumb
Look at package of pasta and find the variable cook time. Choose the lesser time given and then subtract 2 minutes. For example, if your package of pasta says "cook for 8 - 11 minutes," take that 8 minute number and cut it in half, which is 4. Then subtract 2 minutes from the 4 minutes and you will end up with the proper cook time. In this example the cook time will be 2 minutes.
After the 2 minute pressure cook time is up, wait 5 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure.
If the variable cook time on your package of pasta is 11 - 16 minutes, err on the lesser side. In this instance, the cook time would be 3 minutes. It is better to end up with overly firm pasta rather than mushy because you can continue to cook the pasta, but if it is mushy, there is nothing you can do to correct.
If the pasta is too firm or al dente for your taste, simply put the lid back on the pot and let the pasta sit in the hot pot. The residual heat will continue to cook the pasta. Check after a few minutes to see if the pasta has reached the perfect firmness for your liking. If not give it a stir and let sit some more.
This recipe uses a bit of a natural release and the total time is figured into that, so only the cook time needs to be adjusted. The natural release time allows for a little pressure to release, so that the starchy water can settle and not spit out through the pressure valve when the pressure is released.Albacore tuna in water works the best, so that your casserole is not oily.Adding the frozen peas in after pressure cooking, ensures the peas to remain bright green and to keep their snap. Peas defrost in a matter of seconds and by the time, you have mixed them through the Tuna Noodle Casserole, they will be perfectly warmed and ready to eat.If you are tempted to add cheese to this recipe, please try it without first. While cheese makes everything better, it is my opinion that it degrades this recipe.Some people like to add a plain potato chip topping. If you would like a topping, simply crush potato chips to make two cups crushed and sprinkle on top of the casserole. Try using the Mealthy CrispLid to quickly crisp them up right in the pot!