These are a treat. 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
Ingredients
- 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.
Elegant and delicious recipe 🙂 I want to be your neighbor 😉
I would like a whole street of food bloggers so we could exchange food!
Love the flavours in this and your tuna cakes look so deliciously crunchy! I always have tuna in the pantry but have tended to go for a Thai fishcake type version. I’ll have to try these Middle Eastern flavours next time 🙂
Thanks Christina
So many things I like about these! The Dukkah in the crumbs, what a great idea and the whipped feta sounds delicious.
Thank so nice of you.
Beautiful — I love the use of North African flavours in this dish. Sounds divine!