Is it me or does back-to-school frenzy feel like it was yesterday and is Christmas shopping season imminent? Life’s been busy and as you’ve noticed, my time spent testing new recipes and eating my way through new healthy trendy foods has been reduced to sipping matcha lattes from the Starbucks drive-thru. So today I share with you a totally unfancy but easy, quick and delicious dinner idea that does not require you to have a lot of fresh produce in the fridge: good old fish cakes. You’ll find most of the ingredients in your pantry and if you don’t, I’m sure you can easily swap them for something you do have on hand. The other bonus is that my kids – who didn’t grow up with tuna salad sandwiches like I did and who can’t stomach the smell of canned tuna – totally dig these.
Most of the time, I serve them on a bed of rocket but the kiddos also like to put a few in a pita pocket with lettuce. Oh, and if you want, you can half the size of the patties and they make rocking cocktail nibbles.
Ingredients
- 1 can of good quality tuna, drained (salmon also works, however sardines, herring or other canned fish not so much)
- 1/2 cup of bread crumbs (I take my favorite gluten free crackers and just blend them in a mixer)
- 2 medium eggs
- 1 tbsp mustard
- 2 tbsp of capers or chopped olives or chopped sundried tomatoes
- 1 tbsp chives, chopped finely (you can totally swap this with most fresh herbs, cilantro and dill are also great – and dried works fine)
- Zest of half a lime or lemon
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp goat cheese or feta (optional)
- 3 tbsp your favorite cooking oil – I use flavorless coconut or groundnut oil and sometimes ghee
Zesty yogurty mayo
- 1/4 cup yogurt
- 2 tbsp mayo (optional)
- 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cornichons, diced (small unsweetened pickles, I get the Maille brand) – optional
- Freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the zesty yogurty mayo by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside covered in the fridge.
- In a large bowl, mix the tuna, bread crumbs, eggs, mustard, olives, chives, salt and pepper to taste and lemon zest with a fork until they are well combined
- Toss in the cheese and give it another quick swirl
- Form 8 equal 2 cm-thick patties
- Put a large sauce pan over medium high heat and pour in the oil
- When it starts to sizzle, add the fish cakes and leave them for about a minute or until they turn light brown. Flip and leave for another minute. Take them out and place them on a plate that has been lined with a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
- Serve immediately with the yogurt mayo