Watch Neven's Portuguese Food Trails Wednesdays at 8.30pm on RTÉ One.
Ingredients
For the salsa
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 red onion, peeled & finely diced
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 2 large roasted red pepper, diced
- 12 cherry vine tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
For the tuna fish cakes
- 800g left over cold mashed potato
- 110g tin Tuna in Olive Oil, drained & flaked
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 2 spring onions, trimmed & thinly sliced
- Sea salt
- 4 tbsp plain flour
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 150g fresh white or panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Sesame seeds
- 3-4 tbsp olive oil
For the lemon mayonnaise
- 4 tbsp mayonnaise
- Zest of ½ lemon
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
Method
For the salsa
- Heat a frying pan with the olive oil
- Add the diced red onion followed by the caster sugar, vinegar and lemon zest
- Add in the red peppers & tomatoes
- Stir to combine & cook for a further 2 minutes
- Season to taste and if required add in more vinegar or sugar
- Turn off the pan, add in the basil, chopped chives & mix well
For the lemon mayonnaise
- Mix the mayonnaise, lemon zest and chives together and set aside until required
For the tuna fish cakes
- In a large mixing bowl, place the mashed potato, flaked tuna pieces, chives, lemon zest (retain a little for the crumb) and spring onion
- Season with sea salt
- Mix well until combined
- Using a small ice-cream scoop, shape the mixture into evenly sized balls and shape into patties using your hands
- Place the flour on a plate
- Place the beaten eggs into a shallow dish and place the breadcrumbs in a separate dish. Line the dishes side by side with the flour first followed by the egg and then flour
- Add the smoked paprika, sesame seeds and remaining lemon zest into the breadcrumbs and mix to combine
- Dust the tuna fish cakes in the flour, carefully dip them in beaten egg and then coat in the breadcrumbs.
- Repeat for each of the patties
- Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over a medium heat
- Shallow fry the fish cakes in batched for 3-5 minutes on each side until crisp and golden
- Drain well on kitchen paper
To serve
Serve the tuna fishcakes on warmed plates along with the salsa and side serving of lemon mayonnaise.
