Christine's Salmon Pasta Topping

I invented this recipe about half an hour ago, but it's based on many previous recipes I've done along similar lines.

It may not find favour with your household's eaters if they're not fond of gooey, not-very-chewy food. I made it tonight because I had a sore throat! But if you like soft foods, it's pretty nice.

Ingredients:

210g (7.5oz) can salmon (or you could use tuna, or even cold diced roast chicken)
125g (4.5oz) can corn kernels
White end of 1 spring onion (green onion / scallion)
Small stick of celery (about 15cm / 6 inches long)
1x heaped 20mL tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
100mL milk
1x 20mL tablespoon sour cream
2x 20mL tablespoons cream cheese (Philadelphia cream cheese, Philly cheese)
2x 20mL tablespoons grated (shredded) cheese - I used mozzarella but any hard yellow cheese would work
Water
NOTE: I used low-fat milk, light sour cream and light Philly cheese to bring down the calorie count. You could also use a light grated cheese, or you could make them all full-fat if you’re not counting calories!

Method:

1. Drain the tin of salmon and remove any vertebrae or other large bones.

2. In a small bowl, mash the salmon to break up any large lumps.

3. Finely slice the celery across the end, to make thin rainbow-shaped slivers.

4. Remove the roots from the spring onion, and starting from the white end, finely slice the first ~10 centimetres or up to the edge of the very green part. Don't use the green part.

5. Place salmon, celery, drained corn kernels and spring onion in a hot frying pan (oiled if it’s not a non-stick pan) and fry for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking or burning.

6. While the other ingredients are frying, place the milk in a small mixing bowl and add the sour cream and Philly cheese. Using a fork, mash the sour cream and Philly cheese into small lumps.

7. Add the grated cheese to the milk mixture and stir briskly.

8. In a small glass or cup, place the cornflour and enough water to cover the cornflour. You MUST add the cornflour first or it will form a hard lump. Stir thoroughly until the cornflour is dissolved.

9. At the end of the 10 minutes’ frying time, add the milk and cheese mixture to the frying pan and stir thoroughly until it is evenly mixed with the salmon mixture.

10. Allow the milk to heat almost to boiling point, then give the cornflour a final stir and add it to the frying pan (try to pour it around instead of all in one place). Stir briskly until the milk has thickened, then remove from the heat immediately.

I had half of this with some penne pasta (half a 250mL cup of pasta when uncooked) and that made a very satisfying meal, so this amount of salmon mixture with 1 cup of pasta would make a good meal for two.