Tuna Rissoles

Great midweek meals are simple, nourishing and inexpensive. Many of the family will remember staying with Mum and being served tuna rissoles.  I tried to make some recently for this blog but the were dry and fell apart!  So I asked Lucy to share her version, so here is the recipe from Lucy including her photos for this post.

Tuna Rissoles

5 large potatoes mashed

2 large tins of Tuna chunks - in brine not oil

1 onion, chopped finely

1 egg lightly beaten

2 – 4  tabs chopped parsley and chives

plain flour in a small bowl with, seasoned with salt and black pepper

1 beaten egg (extra) mixed in a small bowl with and a little milk (1 tabs) to thin it out

crumbs for coating, either breadcrumbs, cornflake crumbs or rice crumbs

1.     Cook and mash the potatoes, you can boil them but Lucy suggests steaming so that they are not too watery. 

2.     fry onion until soft

3.     Mix drained tuna, and all other ingredients in a bowl with your hands then make into rissoles shapes.

4.     Dip each rissole in flour, then into egg mixture and then roll into the crumbs

5.     Fry in hot oil of your choice

rolled rissoles

3 bowls ready to coat the rissoles with crumbs

Crumbed rissoles ready to fry

Lucy notes…. “Over the years I have added a lot more things to the rissole mixture before crumbing.  Like celery fried up with the onion and a little green capsicum. And instead of just white potato I add mashed sweet potato and pumpkin.     I sometimes add sesame seeds to the crumbs.  These are really tasty!  Mum then use to make a creamy tomato sauce to pour on top of the rissoles.  This was just onions and tomatoes fried up till soft.  Add a few tablespoons of flour and cook for a few minutes then stir in milk ( I find full cream milk better)  Cook till thickened and then add a handful of chopped basil leaves, sea salt, little brown sugar and black pepper.   Pour over the rissoles and serve.  This is so YUM!”

Herb Crusted Baked Chicken

This is Chicken Schnitzel to die for. Not fried, baked, with an incredible flavour and texture that is a sensation every time I eat this! The first time I had this was last summer at beach house holiday, a group of 20 year olds stayed overnight and the girls set out in the morning to make lunch for everyone, which was a real treat.  The recipe is designed for fish, but every time I've had it with chicken fillet, but use fish is you prefer.  So I owe a big thank you to Erica R for introducing this dish to me;  I've made some slight adjustments, let me know what you think.

4 Chicken Fillets
1 bunch flat leaf Parsley
3 cloves Garlic
1 - 3 fresh Chillies
2 -3 slices Bread, crumbed
100g grated Parmesan Cheese
1 Lemon grated rind
2 tabs Almonds finely chopped
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Sea Salt and Black Pepper


1. Finely chop Parsley, Chilli, Garlic
2. Combine with Bread crumbs, cheese, almonds and enough olive oil to bind the mixture
3. Slice each Chicken fillet into 3 pieces of equal thickness and lay in a single layer in lightly oiled baking dish
4. Spread the topping over the chicken or fish fillets if preferred
5. Sprinkle with Sea Salt and cracked Black Pepper
6. Bake in hot oven 190ºC for 15 minutes

If you like to use a food processer then just throw in all the ingredients except the chicken!! and the olive oil.  Master Chef has caused a revival of this kitchen toy at my place... so chop everything, mix in some olive oil and the spread over the meat, easy and YUM!

White Fish with Currants

Delicious and simple, this dish can be made in advance and is excellent for a crowd, I love food that can be served at room temperature as it takes the pressure off the cook when entertaining. This is a classic Maggie Beer creation that I have taken from her recent extravaganza book "Maggie's Harvest" p80, in the Summer section. We used Tommy Ruffs just like Maggie suggests. They are pretty common here in SA, their name was recently officially changed to Australian herrings, tasty small oily fish.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Serve with salads or roast garlicky potatoes.

White Fish with Currants
130g dried Currants
1 cup Verjuice (Maggie Beer's)
Butter for cooking
1 cup extra virgin Olive Oil
500g Tommy Ruff fillets (Australian Herring)
Plain Flour seasoned with salt & pepper
3 large Red Onions
rind and juice of 3 Lemons
3 sprigs Thyme

Soak currants in verjuice overnight or heat on defrost in microwave for 5 minutes.  Heat a knob of butter with a little olive oil in a heavy-based fry pan over medium heat until nut brown.  Dust each fillet with seasoned flour just before adding it to the pan and seal for 30 seconds on each side.  Add more butter as needed.
Arrange the fillets in a serving dish in a single layer.  Toss the onions in a little of the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat until softened, then add the lemon juice, lemon rind, thyme, and currants. Add equal amounts of the verjuice and olive oil, taste, and add more of each as required to make a balanced vinaigrette, then heat gently.  Pour the hot vinaigrette over the fish in the serving dish where the "cooking" will be completed.  The fish can be eaten 15 minutes after the dressing has been added or left at room temperature for a few hours (as along as it isn't too hot). If refrigerating, bring back to room temperature before serving.