065 / 75 · Smaller Meals and Sweet Finishes
Tuna, Corn and Potato Patties with Lemon Yogurt
8 patties about 3 1/2 inches/9 cm across, plus lemon yogurt; 2 patties and one-quarter sauce per serving · Active 40 min · Cook 40 min · Total 1 hr 35 min
Print recipe · PDFPotato gives these tuna patties a soft center, while sweet corn and a little mustard keep the flavor lively. The important pause comes before shaping: hot, wet mash makes fragile patties, so let the potatoes steam dry and cool in a shallow dish. Eight evenly sized patties give four clear portions with lemon yogurt. They can become a smaller lunch or one part of a larger meal without needing a complicated side dish built into the method.
Start with dry mash
Choose floury potatoes such as russets and cut them into similar-sized chunks. Simmer only until they are tender, then drain well and return to the warm empty saucepan briefly. This lets surface moisture evaporate before mashing. There is no milk or butter in this mash: the egg and tuna provide enough moisture for the finished mixture. Spread the mash thinly in a clean shallow dish and refrigerate for the stated cooling period rather than leaving a deep hot bowl on the counter.
A weighed can is more useful than a can size
Two small cans of tuna can give noticeably different drained weights. The recipe calls for 200 g of tuna after draining, not 200 g including water. Press out excess packing liquid, then separate the fish into flakes without reducing it to paste. Fully cook the frozen corn according to its packet, then cool and dry it as well. Once mixed, divide the filling into eight piles before shaping; each pile should become a patty of the same thickness, which makes the cooking time much more consistent.
Leave the first side alone
Use a broad spatula and leave gaps between the patties. Four fit only in a pan with a flat cooking base at least 9 1/2 inches/24 cm across; measure inside the pan rather than across its upper rim. In a smaller pan with a base at least 8 inches/20 cm across, cook two at a time and allow the longer schedule. Moving a patty repeatedly before a crust forms is a quick way to break it. Moderate heat browns the breadcrumbs while allowing the egg inside to cook through. Keep waiting raw patties covered in the refrigerator. These are pan-fried potato patties with a lightly golden crust rather than a deep, crunchy shell. If cooking ahead, chill the cooked batch promptly and reheat only the portion needed, leaving the lemon yogurt cold.
Ingredients
- 1 lb 5 oz floury potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch/2.5 cm chunks (600 g edible weight)
- Water for boiling the potatoes
- 7 oz canned light tuna in water, well drained (200 g drained weight)
- 2/3 cup frozen sweet corn (100 g frozen starting weight), fully cooked according to its packet, cooled and patted dry
- 1 large egg, without shell (50 g)
- 1/2 cup plain panko breadcrumbs (50 g)
- 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced (30 g)
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (10 g)
- 1/3 teaspoon fine salt (2 g)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (0.5 g)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil (30 ml/27 g), divided
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon plain low-fat Greek yogurt, 2% milk fat (200 g)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (15 ml/15 g)
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (2 g)
Set out
Medium saucepan and colander, Potato masher, Shallow cooling dish, Nonstick frying pan with a usable flat base at least 9 1/2 inches/24 cm across for four patties at a time, or at least 8 inches/20 cm across for two, Broad spatula, Instant-read food thermometer, Small saucepan or vented microwave-safe bowl as required by corn packet, Tray or shallow container with a cover and refrigerator space for waiting raw patties, Clean plate for cooked patties
Allergens
Fish, Egg, Wheat, Mustard, Milk. Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Put potatoes in the saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a steady simmer and cook for 12–15 minutes until a knife slips through. Drain thoroughly, return to the warm pan over low heat for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and mash without liquid.
- Spread mash in a clean shallow dish, no deeper than 1 inch/2.5 cm. Refrigerate for 20 minutes, until cool enough to handle and no longer steaming. Meanwhile mix yogurt, lemon juice and zest in a bowl and refrigerate; fully cook the measured corn according to its packet, drain, cool and dry it, and prepare the onion.
- Mix cooled mash with tuna, corn, egg, panko, spring onions, mustard, salt and pepper. Divide the whole mixture into 8 equal piles, then shape each into a patty about 3 1/2 inches/9 cm across and 3/4 inch/2 cm thick. The portions will be roughly 130 g each, depending on the potatoes after draining. Keep every portion the same thickness and put waiting raw patties on a covered tray in the refrigerator.
- Before heating, choose two batches of four only if the pan has a usable flat base at least 9 1/2 inches/24 cm across and the patties fit with gaps. Otherwise use four batches of two in a pan with a usable base at least 8 inches/20 cm across. Divide the same measured 30 ml oil equally among the chosen two or four batches. Heat the first oil share over medium heat. Cook the first batch for 5–6 minutes on the first side without moving, then turn carefully and cook 5–6 minutes more, until golden and the center of every patty reaches at least 160°F/71°C. Lower the heat and extend cooking if the crust colors before the center is ready.
- Transfer the cooked batch to a clean plate. Add the next oil share and repeat for all remaining batches, keeping waiting raw patties covered in the refrigerator until their turn. Serve 2 patties with one-quarter of the cold lemon yogurt.
Use the cooked batch deliberately
After the first meal, pack the remaining patties in pairs. A cooked pair is easier to warm after training than raw patties are to shape and fry. Add a separate side according to your appetite; the base estimate covers only the patties and measured yogurt sauce.
A useful detail
Use plain panko without cheese or seasoning for this base recipe. All measured frying oil is included in the nutrition calculation even if a little remains in the pan. The 95-minute total includes cooking the potatoes, the 20-minute refrigerator pause, shaping and two sequential 10–12-minute frying batches. With four batches of two, allow about 120 minutes in total. A longer corn-packet preparation or extra heating to reach the center temperature needs additional time.
Another way
- Replace tuna with the same drained weight of canned pink salmon, removing any skin if desired and mashing soft edible bones into the filling.
- Use 30 g finely chopped chives in place of spring onion for a gentler onion note.
Keep it well
Refrigerate cooked patties promptly in a shallow container and use within 3 days. Keep sauce separately for up to 2 days. Reheat patties to 165°F/74°C throughout, leaving yogurt cold. Freeze patties for up to 1 month and thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.