Tuna and Spinach Orzo bake

Whilst getting close to moving house last month, I was trying obviously not to buy any new stuff in and to work my way through the cupboards/ freezer/ fridge etc, and this bake was born! Once again this falls into *Note to self: Always write things down* section! I really should have learned by now that whilst planned dishes are lovely, impulse ones are frequently kitchen miracles!

At the time I had half a bag or so of quick cook orzo to use up, a few nuggets left of frozen spinach and a half a bag of grated cheese (I hate grating!) going spare….and half an hour later I sat down to this lovely, rather filling pasta bake, which also filled my lunch box for the next two days which is always a bonus! I did admittedly eat the leftovers cold but am sure would taste better heated up! 

As a result of it being a cupboard surprise dish, and not thinking it might actually be rather decent I didn’t really measure anything but basically boiled the orzo as per packet instructions (I.e lots of boiling salted water), added the spinach at the end until just thawed, bashed it around to separate, then drained well and transferred into a baking dish. 

Separately I brought to the boil a small pan of milk and vegetable stock, stirred in a little cornflour (slackened with water first) until thickened nicely, removed from the heat, added a tin of drained tuna chunks, s&p, poured over the orzo and mixed well. Then topped with a little grated cheese, a sprinkle of natural breadcrumbs (the last tbsp. or so in the tub!) and it went until a moderate grill until bubbling and golden brown.

Not the best of pictures but you get the idea!

Serve on its own or with a nice green salad. But being that theres already spinach in there I highly recommend garlic bread on the side!