Surprisingly, if you're into seafood, the recipes on the backs of the foil pouches of tuna and salmon are pretty tasty and also quick and painless to make.
Here's one of my favorites:
SALMON OR TUNA CAKES WITH LEMON HERB SAUCE- 1 7.1-oz. pouch Chicken of the Sea Pink Salmon or Albacore Tuna
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red pepper and green onion (I don't like it, but it's entirely optional - I usually leave it out.)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (regular, low cal or light)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tbsp seasoned salt (Old Bay seasoning will work just as well.)
- Cayenne pepper to taste (Old Bay already has cayenne pepper in it, so son't go overboard!)
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs (Progresso makes decent bread crumbs, but if you can find the coarse Japanese bread crumbs, better still! Or mix 'em half and half.
)
- 3 tbsps butter or margarine
In a medium bowl, flake and combine the salmon/tuna, red pepper, onion, mayonnaise, lemon juice, seasoned salt and cayenne pepper. Stir in egg and 4 tbsps of the bread crumbs into the mix. Divide and form the mix into eight balls, then roll the balls in a plate containing the remaining bread crumbs. Once breaded, flatten the balls into patties about 1/2" thick. In a medium skillet, melt the butter/margarine and fry the cakes until golden brown on both sides. Serve immediately with Lemon Herb Sauce (recipe below). Makes four servings of two cakes each.
LEMON HERB SAUCE- 3/4 cup mayonnaise (regular, light or low cal)
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp horseradish
- 2-1/2 tsp fresh or 1 tsp dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Chill until ready to serve. Makes 1 cup.
Some interesting experimentations with the recipe:
Use the seasoned tuna pouches from StarKist (theres a red pepper and also a lemon pepper tuna). However, these pouches are smaller (5 oz instead of the 7 oz.).
Use dijon mustard instead of the seasoned salt.
Be creative!