These are a treat. crunchy Tuna Cakes with whipped creamy feta and crunchy beetroot.

Tuna was a staple of my diet when I was a child, and I don’t mean lovely tuna fillets, I mean canned Tuna….With four girls in the family and my parents both working, cooking was on a roster system. There was a great new product on the market called Risa Riso and my sister embraced this with gusto . Essentially it was a pack of rice shaped pasta with a flavour sachet. Her version included Tuna, peas, onions , carrots , red peppers and of course cheese. It was her speciality and I always think of it when I open a large can of Tuna.

This recipe is inspired by and based on one by Karen Martini from Where the heart is. I love the recipes in this book. They are full of perfectly matched flavours, using lots of vegetables . I wanted a more chunky style ‘cake’ rather than fritters she gives the recipe for, and I wanted to incorporate preserved lemon and dukka. The result is very nice, give it a try.

Tuna Cakes, Preserved Lemon and Whipped Feta

These make great party food or starters

Servings 10

Ingredients

Unit:

250 gm cooked mashed potato cooled 8.81 oz
2 x 1/4s preserved lemons cleaned
2 small eggs
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
250 gm tuna drained (tunaoil) -
2 Tablespoons chopped Parsley
1/2 small finely diced Spanish onion
4 Tablespoon course breadcrumbs or Panko Crumbs
Crumbs to coat
1/4 cup of Dukkah
1 teaspoon cumin
100 gm breadcrumbs 2 cups I used Japanese Panko crumbs
250 ml milk beaten with
1 Egg
150 gm flour for dusting 1 cup

Whipped Feta topping

100 gm creamy Danish feta
100 gm ricotta
80 ml cream or buttermilk 4 Tablespoons

Instructions

You need 1 bowl and a food processor.

Put 1/2 the potato in to a bowl with 1/2 of the drained Tuna (leave the Tuna in lightly broken up chunks , for texture). Add the parsley, paprika and crumbs.
In the bowl of the food processor add the preserved lemon, egg and remaining tuna and potato and puree. Combine both of the Tuna mixtures and mix well. Add a couple of extra crumbs a tablespoon at a time if the mix is a bit sticky. Don't overdo it.
Shape into patties and chill for an hour or pop into the freezer for 15 minutes,before crumbing
Mix the dukkah, cumin and crumbs . Flour, egg wash and crumb the cakes and chill to set.
before cooking. Meantime

Feta whip

Combine the Feta and Ricotta with the cream in a food processor and whizz until fluffy and combined. This is addictive and perfectly matched to these Tuna cakes.

Beetroot salad

This beetroot salad made of raw beetroot was a big hit. I have several converts who now make this every week. Use nice fresh firm beetroots they're sweeter
Grate the beetroot, and add the mint. In a separate bowl mix the sugar with the hot water to dissolve then add the molasses, oil , salt and till combined. Mix into the beetroot and let stand for several minutes. The combination of the salt and sugar encourage the beetroot to bleed making a very nice dressing.... that is not to be dribbled on clothing!
Deep or shallow fry the cakes till golden. Serve with the beetroot and whipped feta.