Tuna Cakes

1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 tsp. herb blend (your own, or Mrs. Dash etc.)
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. lemon zest
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon each salt & pepper (or to taste)
2 Tbsp. Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios (substitute peanuts, if desired)
1 egg
1 can chunk tuna (6 1/2 to 7 oz.), well drained
1/2 cup finely crumbled cracker crumbs (Parmesan or Cheddar cheese-flavoured suggested)
1/4 cup plain corn meal
1/2 stick butter
Fat for frying (coat bottom of skillet)

Combine first 8 ingredients with egg, mixing well. Stir in tuna and half the bread crumbs. Mix well, shape into four patties and coat with remaining cracker crumbs mixed with corn meal.

Heat fat for frying. Cook tuna patties over medium heat 3 to 4 minutes until browned on one side. Turn gently and cook several minutes longer until browned on other side. Keep warm in oven (150-200 deg.).

Wipe out skillet. On medium heat add butter and cook just until browned. Serve spooned over tuna patties.

~~~~~~~

We were able to give these a try a couple-three weeks ago, and they turned out great! They were easy to make and tasted delicious, and I can highly recommend them.

Since we had company over, we made a triple batch (12 cakes total); naturally, we'll start with a shot of the goods:



Not pictured: salt, pepper and eggs.

A note on crackers: plain, ol' saltines will do, but cheese crackers (Parmesan, cheddar etc.) will really take this dish to the next level; we used Cheese Nips.

A note on nuts: the recipe calls for pistachios; unfortunately, we didn't have any on hand, and they are expensive here at our local small-town grocery, so we left them out. I considered substituting with peanuts, but we didn't have any of those either. This is too bad, because after doing some cooking with nuts for different dishes lately, I truly have come to appreciate the rich, crunchy dimension that tehy can add to a savory dish; however, I will be sure to use them in my next preparation.

To begin, I measured out these ingredients, multiplying the recipe above by three:



Clockwise from top: finely-diced onion, Mrs. Dash (garlic and herb variety), freshly-squeezed lemon juice, finely-chopped lemon zest, dried parsley, salt and pepper.

ADD moment: I bet dried celery leaves woud REALLY be good, in place of the parsley!

Next, I combined these ingredients with the Parmesan cheese and the eggs:



Then, after mixing everything together, I added the pulverised crackers and the drained tuna:



And combined everything together thoroughly to make a meatloaf-like mixture.

It was starting to smell pretty good by now, but we were only just beginning. I divided the mixture into three equal parts:



Then divided each of those into 4 balls, for a total of 12:



After that, I shaped each ball into a patty, and coated it with the cracker/corn meal mixture, laying them all out on paper towels to soak up any excess moisture:



Next, I fried them in a little hot oil; a few minutes on one side:



And a few minutes on the other:



That beautiful, golden-brown, crispy-rich exterior is exactly what you're looking for, protecting the wonderful, savory goodness inside!

As each patty came out of the frying pan, I put them on a rack:



And into the oven on WARM while I cooked the rest:



When they were all done, I drizzled the melted butter on top:



And that was pretty much it - look how good these are!



If I would have been thinking correctly, we would have had some buns in the house to serve the patties on, but we didn't, so we used bread to make a sandwich. We also made a side dish of a simple potato salad, but that wasn't quite ready at the time, so no picture.

The patties tasted delicious, with a crispy-crunchy exterior, a soft, savory inside and bright citrus highlights. The cheeses added depth and savoriness for a great experience all around.

These easy-to-make tuna cakes are perfect any time of year, but to me they seem like they would be perfect for a sunny summer day at the beach. Give them a try, and see for yourself!

Made these yesterday.
I used Lawrys Lemon Pepper and Old Bay for seasonings and fried em in Olive Oil (virgin, not extra virgin).
DELICIOUS!!!
I'll definatly be adding Cheese Nips to my bredding/thickening arsenal.

Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Charlie

hey, glad you liked them, charlie ~ they are good for sure!