Confession: I often wish I lived in a village by the sea, if for no other reason than that I could get fish and things so delightfully fresh and cheap.
I love seafood. And though it’s extraordinarily nutritious, it’s hard finding economical ways to work it into our family’s menu. I like imitation crab for this reason—though it’s fake crab, it’s real fish: relatively cheap, simple, and ready to use warm or cold in a variety of dishes. Better still, I recently re-discovered a very humble, very delicious superfood: tuna.
My early impression of tuna was synonymous with tuna noodle casserole. [Ho-hum.] I now think tuna is best in full doses—not as a mild flavoring in a pasta goulash, but as a robust dish of its own.
Here are my two favorite ways to eat it.
Fruited Tuna Salad
(recipe shared by my friend Amy Herr)3 or 4 cans tuna
Craisins
Celery
Pecans
Apple
Mandarin orangesMix all together with ½ cup mayo and 1 T. honey. Shown below with a side salad.
Tuna Cakes
(a tune of my own invention)2 cans tuna
1 egg
¼ cup mayo
Generous shake of Old Bay seasoning
Fresh snipped parsley
10 saltines, crushedMix all together. Drop by spoonfuls into a skillet containing a couple tablespoons of hot butter/oil. Fry on each side until crispy-golden. Serve on a bun or a slice of bread. Add some cheese, sauce, or greens as desired.
*****
Sometimes people are scared off tuna by the threat of high mercury levels; I understand this is mostly a problem when you are consuming multiple cans a day. So moderation in all things, and enjoy some fish.
How do you eat seafood at home?
Your Tuna Cakes remind me of the Salmon Patties that I used to make using canned salmon. They were a favorite of my husband’s, but I haven’t made them in years! I went a-Googling and found the recipe to share with you. Now I need to put canned salmon on the grocery list. 😉
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Pierside-Salmon-Patties
P.S. The dill sauce is the best part of those patties. Especially if you have fresh dill….mmmmmm….*sigh* Now I’m hungry at bedtime!
I’m so excited about that dill sauce recipe! Thanks for the link! I’ve been wishing to find a good sauce to serve with the tuna cakes; I’m not really a tartar sauce kinda girl.
I don’t.
I might just start soon, after drooling over your recipes though. 🙂
Good stuff! Now we’re talking 🙂 I love tuna quesadillas. Mix tuna with cream cheese and shredded cheese. Throw on top of a tortilla. Add whatever toppings you want. (Although I prefer just a little salt.) Put another tortilla on top. Then just throw in the skillet with butter till toasty. I love mine dipped in ranch. Maybe not the healthiest but it’s excellent! I may have taken the idea from the back of a tuna packet a long time ago… But I like to think of it as mine. 🙂
I gotta tell you, Shari. I make these tuna cakes ALL the time now, and my kids rejoice everytime they see your blog up while I’m making supper. 🙂 They know what’s coming! Thanks for sharing it. Now I’ll have to try the dill sauce, although we Love tartar sauce.