Tuna fishcakes recipe

These tuna fishcakes are the ultimate store cupboard supper. If you have a couple of spring onions lurking in the bottom of the chiller, you're good to go.

You only need six ingredients for this recipe and most of them are things you can find at the back of your cupboards, or in a cornershop, so it's amazing that the result tastes like restaurant-quality food. If you don't have brown breadcrumbs (or bread to make some), you can use golden breadcrumbs from a packet. We love eating these as a snacky meal with a couple of dips like mayonnaise and sweet chilli sauce. They also make a great starter, with a little bit of frizzy salad on the side for garnish. 

Ingredients

• 400g can tuna chunks in brine, drained
• 400g pack cheesy mash - we used Asda cheesy mash
• 2 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 100g wholemeal breadcrumbs

Method

1. Flake the tuna and mix with the mashed potato, parsley and spring onions. Divide into 8 even portions and shape into patties, about 2cm thick.
2. Put the egg and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes. Coat each fish cake, first in the egg and then in breadcrumbs.
3. Heat 100ml oil in a frying pan and cook the cakes for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden.

Top tips for making tuna fishcakes

Add a chopped chilli to the fishcake for a spicy upgrade, and serve with sweet chilli sauce or sriracha.

How do you keep fishcakes from falling apart?

The most common reason for this is that the mashed potato was too wet. Make sure your mash is nice and fluffy and a bit on the dry side. Using leftover mash made a day or two before the fishcakes is ideal for this.

Do I freeze fishcakes before or after cooking?

Either is fine. For best results, if you're planning to make more than you need, freeze them before cooking: once you’ve shaped the fish cakes, freeze them flat on a baking tray, then transfer to a container once they are frozen. Freeze for up to three months. Defrost in the fridge and cook as above.

If you have already cooked them and find you have more than you can eat, wrap them in clingfilm and freeze. Defrost in the fridge and heat them in the oven until hot all the way through.

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