Tuna Patties

My dad used to make tuna patties pretty frequently when I was growing up. It was one of those staple meals that we probably always had the ingredients for. I'm not sure if it is because we had them so much growing up, but I have hardly had them at all since I moved out of my parent's house 8 years ago. I'm so happy I made these! Not only did it bring back memories, but they were delicious!

These patties had a great combination of flavors. The tabasco added a great little kick to them! It wasn't too overpowering, but blended in really well with all of the other flavors and added a nice touch that set these tuna patties apart (although my dad's tuna patties will always be the best). :-)

An easy, healthy, simple recipe, and great to fix when you don't have a lot of time to mess with dinner. Enjoy!

Tuna Patties

Prep time: 10 minutes  Cook time: 10 minutes  Yield: 4 patties

2 6-ounce cans tuna
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup white bread torn into small pieces
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp water (or liquid from the cans of tuna)
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh chives, green onions, or shallots
salt and freshly ground black pepper
a couple squirts of Crystal hot sauce or tabasco
1 raw egg
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp butter

1. Drain the liquid from the tuna cans. If you are using tuna packed in water, reserve a tbsp of the tuna water, and add a tsp of olive oil to the tuna mixture in the next step.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the tuna, mustard, torn white bread, lemon zest, lemon juice, water, parsley, chives, and hot sauce. Sprinkle on salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste the mixture before adding the egg to see if it needs more seasoning to your taste. Mix in the egg.
3. Divide the mixture into 4 parts. With each part, form into a ball and then flatten into a patty. Place onto a wax paper lined tray and chill for an hour. (You can skip the chilling if you want, chilling just helps the patties stay together when you cook them.)
4. Heat the olive oil and a little butter (for taste) in a cast iron or stick-free skillet on medium high. Gently place the patties in the pan, and cook until nicely browned, 3-4 minutes on each side.
5. Serve with wedges of lemon. You can also serve with tartar sauce on slider buns for a tuna burger.