patty, cake, or burger?

I've been slightly pescatarian lately. I don't know if it's because of laziness or if it's because I'm trying to eat healthier. All I know is that I've been eating a lot of fish as of late and I don't know when it's going to stop.

Take these tuna burgers, for example. I could very well have baked or pan-fried some chicken to put on my salad, but canned tuna seemed way easier and more interesting to make. I liked that I could put veggies in my protein and that it was going to take me 10 minutes to make. See what I mean? Lazy or healthy?

When I made these patties (or is it cakes? or is it burgers??), I was originally going to make an actual burger like the title suggested, but I didn't really have any bread in the house. So instead, these "burgers" turned into patties that topped some spinach and arugula. I added some tomatoes for sweetness and slivers of red onion for bite. To finish this off, I made a thin, spicy ramoulade that doubled as a topping for the patties and a dressing for the salad.

Would I make these patties again? Maybe. When I made them, I knew that they were going to be slightly dry (which they were). I think if I added more breadcrumbs so that it had a slightly more cakey consistency, they wouldn't be so bad. Despite that, the flavors were actually quite tasty so I might play around with the recipe and see if I can improve the texture. Until then . . .

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Tuna Burgers
(slightly adapted from Spright)

2 (5.oz) cans chunk light tuna, drained
2 eggs, beaten
2/3 large carrot, grated
1/2 green onion, sliced
1 tbsp nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 pinch cayenne powder
2 pinches of salt
2 pinches of pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plain bread crumbs

 
Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a medium bowl; mix with a fork or your hands until all ingredients are evenly distributed. Using your hands, take small handfuls of the mixture and form them into patties.

Pour the olive oil into a medium-sized pan and bring it to medium heat. Once the oil is hot, place the patties in the pan.

Cook each side of the patties for 4-5 minutes, turning them over carefully with a spatula or tongs. Place on a paper towel for a few minutes on each side to drain excess oil then serve.

easy moroccan.

Just a quick and easy dinner: Morrocan marinaded chicken with lots of garlic and a hint of honey then served with some boxed Parmesan couscous fancified with oil-cured olives, jumbo golden raisins, sun-dried tomatoes, crumbled feta cheese, and a good amount or peppery arugula. Dinner is served!

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Easy Moroccan Chicken
(makes 2 servings)

1 tbsp Moroccan spice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp honey
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
4 bone-in chicken legs and/or thighs

 
Combine spice, olive oil, honey, and garlic. Place chicken in a Ziploc bag and add marinade. Massage marinade into the chicken then leave in the fridge overnight.

The following day, remove chicken from Ziploc bag and place skin-side down on a foil-lined baking pan. Set oven to broil and cook chicken for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken so that it's skin-side up and continue cooking for another 10 minutes or until juices run clear.

small ears.

oreccheitte pasta has always been a favorite macaroni of mine because of the shape. those small little ears gives just the right amount of pasta in each bite and, bonus? you can pierce it with a fork or scoop it up with a spoon! i experimented with making a salad with some ingredients i had on hand and ended up with a great tangy recipe that i adore. when cooking the pasta, make sure to use plenty of olive oil or butter so that the orecchiette doesn't stick together when cooking (urgh...mine did, lol).

 

Italian Orecchiette Salad with Tomato, Basil, and Arugula.
(makes 6 to 8 servings)

for dressing:
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp italian dressing (used wishbone)
1 tbsp lime juice (only had the bottled kind at the time, so used that)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground pepper (used mccormick's peppercorn medley)
1 tsp dried parsley (or you can use fresh italian parsley, about 2-3 sprigs)

4 cups cooked orecchiette pasta
1 clamshell grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup red onion, chopped or sliced

1 small sprig fresh basil, slivered
2 large handfuls of arugula
1 cup shaved parmesan

Combine the ingredients for the dressing, whisking together well. Add the orecchiette, tomatoes, and onion to the dressing and season to taste by using the listed seasonings. Refrigerate overnight (or at least an hour) for the flavors to develop. Right before serving, gently fold in arugula, basil, and shaved parmesan. Best served chilled.

dinner in a jiffy.

dinner: crispy salmon with warm multigrain and arugula salad. salt, pepper, garlic herb seasoning on the salmon then crispified on the pan with olive oil. multigrain and veggie blend from trader joes heated then tossed in with fresh arugula. drizzled with olive oil and a little tahitian vanilla balsamic vinegar and dinner was done in ten-fifteen minutes. :)