When my store cupboards are bare and the fridge looks like a lonely place to be, rather than rushing out to the supermarket or ordering a takeaway, I like to play a game which I've christened "What's in your Fridge?".
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This generally involves trying to conjure up a meal from nothing, i.e leftovers, vegetables that have seen better days or forgotten tins of this and that. It requires a bit of imagination and a willingness to experiment, but the results are often surprisingly good.
Having only returned from holiday a few days ago, last night my dining options looked a little limited, so it seemed like the perfect time to put the game into play. A couple of baking potatoes, a sad looking bunch of spring onions and a single egg languished in the fridge, while the store cupboard provided tins of both tuna and sweetcorn and a half empty packet of couscous. So I decided to make fishcakes.
The opportunities for adaptation are pretty much endless here: you could use tinned salmon instead of tuna or leftover cooked fish or prawns; sweet potato would make a good substitute; semolina or breadcrumbs could be used to coat the cakes and the addition of garlic, ginger or coriander and a splash of soy sauce would give it a nice Asian inspired twist.
Feel free to message me with items that are in your fridge and I will do my best to come up with a suitable recipe or idea.
Tuna fishcakes
Serves 2
2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tin tuna, drained
1 small tin sweetcorn, drained
1 egg, beaten
75g couscous
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper
Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for 15-20 minutes or until tender when pierced with a knife. Drain well and mash until relatively smooth.
Tip the potatoes into a bowl and add the spring onions, tuna, sweetcorn and egg. Season with salt and black pepper and mix well. With damp hands, shape the mixture into four equal sized patties.
Tip the couscous out on to a plate and press the surface of the fishcakes into the couscous, coating on all sides.
Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the patties for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through.
