I'm home this week for a few days before starting a new teaching position at the Community College, and I love the extra time to be creative in the kitchen. Yesterday I decided to transform a can of tuna into the tastiest lunch ever!
First I sauteed some kale with bacon and onion.
I took a break from kale for a while. I just got tired of it, but after hitting Aldi this past weekend, I decided to pick up a bag for inspiration. It was the first thing that popped into my head when deciding what to do with the tuna.
After the kale cooked down a bit, I mixed it with the tuna, oats, a quirt of lemon juice and an egg.
The mixture was super moist, so I let it sit for a minute so the oats could soak some of it up. Then I formed it into four patties and panned fried it in the same skillet I cooked the kale.
They came out better than I anticipated! The bacon and kale added a fantastic flavor and helped to moisten the patties. I decided to top them with a simple, fresh grape tomato salsa that I flavored with habanero and garlic.
I saved the leftovers for yesterday's lunch, and I swear it was even better straight out of the fridge the next day.
There is a lot of potential in a boring can of tuna. I must remember this!
Ingredients
- 1 slice of raw bacon
- 85 g kale
- ½ onion ~50 g
- 1 6 oz can of tuna drained well
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats 20 g
- ½ lemon for juice ~1 oz
Instructions
Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Cut the bacon into small pieces and add them to the skillet.1 slice of raw bacon
While the bacon is cooking, chop the kale and dice the onion. Add both to the bacon with a pinch of salt and cook until the kale reduces in size by at least half, around 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a bowl add the drained tuna, the oats, an egg and juice of ½ lemon. Pour the cooked kale and bacon mixture in and mix everything with a spoon. Let it sit for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, reheat the skillet you cooked the kale in over medium-high heat.
Form the tuna mixture into four patties. The mixture is watery, squeeze most of the moisture out when you form the patties. Then place directly in the hot skillet. Once all patties are in, lower the heat to medium. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they set and then gently flip. Cook an additional 4 minutes until warmed through.
📖 Recipe
Kale Bacon Tuna Patties
Ingredients
- 1 slice of raw bacon
- 85 g kale
- ½ onion ~50 g
- 1 6 oz can of tuna drained well
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats 20 g
- ½ lemon for juice ~1 oz
Instructions
- Heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Cut the bacon into small pieces and add them to the skillet.1 slice of raw bacon
- While the bacon is cooking, chop the kale and dice the onion. Add both to the bacon with a pinch of salt and cook until the kale reduces in size by at least half, around 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.85 g kale, ½ onion
- In a bowl add the drained tuna, the oats, an egg and juice of ½ lemon. Pour the cooked kale and bacon mixture in and mix everything with a spoon. Let it sit for a few minutes.1 6 oz can of tuna, ½ cup old-fashioned oats, ½ lemon for juice, 1 large egg
- Meanwhile, reheat the skillet you cooked the kale in over medium-high heat.
- Form the tuna mixture into four patties. The mixture is watery, squeeze most of the moisture out when you form the patties. Then place directly in the hot skillet. Once all patties are in, lower the heat to medium. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they set and then gently flip. Cook an additional 4 minutes until warmed through.
Notes
- There is no need to add any additional in the skillet beyond what renders out of the bacon.
- I was trying to keep carbs on the lower end. These may benefit from additional oats or even some breadcrumbs to help hold them together. If you make as is, just be gentle when flipping.
- The salsa was just a pint of grape tomatoes halved and tossed with a clove minced garlic, a minced habanero, a pinch of salt, a sprinkle of dried parsley, and the juice from the other half of the lemon.
- Nutrition is just for the patties, not the salsa.
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