“Oooh, my mom made tuna puff. I’m so excited. I can’t wait. You have to try it,” my friend and colleague Lauren would often tell me.

She likes good food so I trust her judgement. I was very intrigued after hearing her sing this dish’s praises. She got her brother to take a picture of the tuna puff recipe and she sent it to me. Technology, ey! Isn’t it a marvel?

Anyway, back to the food. This dish has the power to make you happy and sad at the same time. Happy because it’s wonderfully delicious and you’re left feeling sad when it’s all been consumed. It’s great comfort food

To sum the dish up: The base is a choux pastry with grated cheese stirred into the batter. It’s topped with a tuna and mushroom sauce and baked in a hot oven.

Here’s an image of the recipe. You have to try it.

My variations

– The first time I made it, I had leftover roast chicken and instead of stirring tuna into the mushroom sauce I chopped up the cooked chicken and added it. I also added a chilli or 2 when I braised the onion.

– Another deviation: Using crab meat instead of tuna; or cutting up crab sticks and using that.

Any variation works really and the classic tuna is classic for a reason – it’s mouthwatering.

So thank you, Mrs Hess. Thank you for cooking this for your children so that one of them would end up telling me about it. Thanks Lauren for bringing this into my life.

Here’s a picture of the chicken one to give you an idea.

Chicken puff in all its glory. Before and after oven time.