tooner noodle casserole

ingredients:

12 oz small noodles (i used quinoa mini shells here)
3 tbsp margarine
1/4 c flour
2 c vegetable broth
1 1/2 c soymilk
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
dash fresh black pepper
2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas
2-4oz cans mushrooms (use fresh if you have them, sautee in oil)
1 1/2 c frozen peas
about 1/2 c bread crumbs (i use panko)

directions:

preheat the oven to 350f, and lightly spray a 9x13 glass baking dish (or deeper smaller casserole dish). start the pasta cooking, and start on the sauce. (when the pasta is done, just put it back in the pot and leave it until needed.)

mash the chickpeas in a large bowl with a potato masher and set aside.

in a large saucepan, melt the margarine over medium heat, add the flour and stir until the flour is absorbed. add the broth and bring to a boil, whisking constantly until thickened. turn the heat down to low, add the soymilk, lemon juice, soy sauce, spices, and nutritional yeast, and whisk. add chickpeas, peas, and mushrooms, and stir well. add the mixture to the cooked pasta and mix well.

pour into baking dish, and cover with bread crumbs (add more or less to suit your tastes), and bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes.


if you'd like to actually have this resemble some kind of semi-fishy taste, you could add a tablespoon or so of dried kelp or hijiki or something like that. personally, i've never been a fan of tuna, but i just love comfort food casseroles and pasta dishes, so i left out the fishiness and modified some other recipes i've found in the past to get this.