Tuna Cakes Recipe

My wife is a serious fan of crab cakes. Whenever she sees them on a menu, whatever restaurant she is at, I know what she will say, and it goes a little something like this “Oooh, hmmm, they have crab cakes!”. That will often differ, but you get my point. Crab cakes are money, but let me point out, and I’m sure many of you can agree, it’s hard to find a great crab cake. Either the texture is not right, or the flavor, or heck, there is very little crab meat in them. So I decided to put my twist on a crab cake, primarily because I had no fresh crab meat in the house, and make something along the lines of a tuna cake.

I had this thought a few months ago that I would start eating tuna during the week for lunch. I would incorporate some into a small salad, along with plenty of vegetables, and maybe a few crackers. That idea fell through, so as I normally do I glanced into my pantry one fine weekend morning and saw the cans of tuna. As my wife has been working out during the week, and weekend mornings, I decided that a nice tuna cake would be really satisfying and offer up something a bit different than her normal salad.

I think I have a winner. Let’s get started on the tuna cakes. Tuna cakes just sound weird, but trust, these things are really delicious.

Ingredients:

• 3 5 oz cans of tuna, in olive oil, drained
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 serrano chili pepper, seeds removed, minced
• 2 whole eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup of roasted cherry tomatoes, chopped
• 1/3 cup of Italian bread crumbs
• Generous pinch of salt
• Generous pinch of cracked black pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• Boston lettuce, optional

Make the mayonnaise by adding the Sriracha and mayonnaise together. Stir well, and set it aside.

To a medium sized mixing bowl, add in the tuna, and flake it with a couple of forks, leaving some chunks. Toss in the lemon juice, shallot, cilantro, garlic, serrano chili, beaten eggs, roasted tomatoes, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper. Pretty much everything else but the olive oil.

Mix that with a fork, ensuring that everything is well incorporated.

Now it is time to shape our tuna cakes. I’m a big fan of these plating rings, but if you do not have any food preparation molds, basically divide the tuna mixture into three even cakes, and shape them into patties.

Heat a non-stick skillet to medium heat. Add one tablespoon of the oil to the center, and swirl it about the diameter of the formed caked.

Add the tuna cake to the center of the skillet, and cook for a few minutes. After a few minutes, cover, and cook an additional minute.

Carefully flip the tuna cake over, reduce the heat a bit, and cook another few minutes, then cover another minute.

If you are using the mold ring, and are ready to plate, take the tuna cake and place it on your serving plate. Run a sharp knife along the interior in case the tuna cake tries to stick and lift up the mold. If you are not using the mold, simply use a spatula and lift that on to your serving dish.

Drizzle with the Sriracha mayonnaise, and serve with some fresh lettuce.

My wife and I really loved these. They had a brightness from the lemon, and the cilantro and roasted tomatoes really brought them to life, even more, with each bite. Don’t even get me started on the Sriracha mayonnaise sauce. That sauce balanced everything out and added a bit of creaminess. I love the weekends and I’m certain we all do for that matter. But I love the weekends because it gives me a chance to come up with great recipes like this one for my wife. I hope you enjoy!

Tuna Cakes Recipe

Dax Phillips

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 17 minutes mins

Servings 3

Ingredients

  

• 3 5 oz cans of tuna in olive oil, drained
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1 shallot minced
• 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic minced
• 1 serrano chili pepper seeds removed, minced
• 2 whole eggs beaten
• 1/4 cup of roasted cherry tomatoes chopped
• 1/3 cup of Italian bread crumbs
• Generous pinch of salt
• Generous pinch of cracked black pepper
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• Boston lettuce optional

Instructions

 

• Make the mayonnaise by adding the Sriracha and mayonnaise together. Stir well, and set it aside.
• To a medium sized mixing bowl, add in the tuna, and flake it with a couple of forks, leaving some chunks. Toss in the lemon juice, shallot, cilantro, garlic, serrano chili, beaten eggs, roasted tomatoes, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper. Pretty much everything else but the olive oil.
• Mix that with a fork, ensuring that everything is well incorporated.
• Now it is time to shape our tuna cakes. I'm a big fan of these plating rings, but if you do not have any food preparation molds, basically divide the tuna mixture into three even cakes, and shape them into patties.
• Heat a non-stick skillet to medium heat. Add one tablespoon of the oil to the center, and swirl it about the diameter of the formed caked.
• Add the tuna cake to the center of the skillet, and cook for a few minutes. After a few minutes, cover, and cook an additional minute.
• Carefully flip the tuna cake over, reduce the heat a bit, and cook another few minutes, then cover another minute.
• If you are using the mold ring, and are ready to plate, take the tuna cake and place it on your serving plate. Run a sharp knife along the interior in case the tuna cake tries to stick and lift up the mold. If you are not using the mold, simply use a spatula and lift that on to your serving dish.
• Drizzle with the Sriracha mayonnaise, and serve with some fresh lettuce.