tuna patties | organised castle

For anyone following along with my menu plan for this week, here is the next instalment.

In the simplest form, tuna patties are a 425g can of tuna, drained and flaked mixed with mashed potato and lightly fried. Beyond that it is entirely a matter of choice.

I chose to use sweet potato tonight so the very first thing I did was to peel the sweet potato, chop them roughly and cooked them in the microwave.

Meanwhile, I prepared the other ingredients.

2016-02-01 01

The tuna is flaked in the bowl and I will add some freshly ground black pepper and a cube of frozen lemon juice as well as about a tablespoon of some gourmet mustard.

You can use whatever herbs, spices or flavouring you choose. I decided on the mustard as it was given to me and I thought it would work nicely in the patties.

Mash the cooked potato but do not add any milk or butter as it needs to be fairly dry for the patties.

2016-02-01 02

I also added 1/2 cup of grated cheese and a tablespoon of besan (chickpea) flour which helps to bind the mixture together.

2016-02-01 03

Rather than using a frying pan, I cook these patties on the sandwich maker with not additional oil and the lid down so that they brown on both sides. The cooking is simply to heat them through and brown the outside as there no raw ingredients to be cooked as such.

We ate them with a salad lettuce, capsicum, cucumber and cherry tomatoes and a dollop of sweet chilli sauce.

2016-02-01 04

The mixture made a total of 9 patties so the others will be used for lunches.

As always, if you have any questions about the recipe please ask.

Tomorrow is bean tacos so I have taken a pack of refried beans out of the freezer tonight in readiness.

I am already starting to form ideas for the menu for next week. I am pretty sure it will include pizza as I have these semi-dried cherry tomatoes in oil with garlic and herbs. I dehydrated the tomatoes and packed them in oil on the weekend. We have such an abundance of cherry tomatoes that I am always looking for new ways to use, store and preserve them.

2016-02-01 05

I posted a comment on this post at Frugal Downunder this morning and promised that I would do my Tuna Pattie recipe for Friday Favourites this week

TUNA PATTIES

425g can of tuna
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
2 large potatoes, cooked and mashed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Black pepper

Drain and flake the tuna. Place in a bowl with other ingredients and combine thoroughly. Form into patties, dust lightly with flour and fry in a little oil.

Drain and serve with salad or steamed vegetables.

HINTS & MODIFICATIONS

I have tried all sorts of variations when making these patties but find that the combination of potato and rice provides the best binding agent.

I use arborio rice but any shortgrain rice which is well-cooked should work. Do not add any milk or butter when mashing the potatoes. The quantities are fairly flexible depending on how far you are trying stretch a tin of tuna.

I freeze these patties and they make a quick and easy meal when you are pushed for time.

You can vary them by using salmon or any freshly cooked fish. I have made them using leftover poached salmon and they were really delicious. Seasoning can be adjusted to suit – I have used lime juice, celery salt and French mustard at various times. You are limited only by your imagination.

I do not have any photos to go along with this post but I do hope you are inspired to experiment with this very basic recipe.