Sometimes things that don't convince us turn out to be a surprise: happened to me with the meatballs of tuna and potatoes. The idea of cooking tuna in oil didn't excite me, but when my brother asked me to prepare them for his birthday I satisfied him. I calibrated the recipe from me, going a little’ by eye, and the results surprised me, because they're really good. Kids will go crazy, so much so that my 15-month-old granddaughter also liked them. While we ate them as an aperitif along with Hummus and BABAGANOUSH, NEW1 and a nice glass of bubbles.
I advise you to use a good tuna well drained oil, but if you prefer to save a handful of calories you can also use natural tuna. Inside I put basil and lemon zest, outside I chose a cornmeal breading, but you can also use breadcrumbs. I fried them (Obviously) in peanut oil (you then bought the essential Thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil?) but they're also delicious in the oven. I guarantee you because I cooked two of them in the oven for the little girl. Obviously, you can also serve them as a second dish: are perfect with a fresh tomato salad.
If, like me, love all that is round, especially if fried, have a look at all my RECIPES OF MEATBALLS AND CROQUETTES, like those (amazing) by POTATOES WITH HAM AND MORTADELLA or those, perfect for summer, by SICILIAN EGGPLANT. Run to boil the potatoes, Have a nice day!
TUNA AND POTATO MEATBALLS
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INGREDIENTS
- 450 grams of potatoes
- 250 grams of tuna
- a few leaves of Basil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- a handful of capers
- a small egg
- 40 grams of pecorino cheese or parmesan
- a little grated organic lemon zest
- breadcrumbs or corn flour for breading
- oil for frying, to taste
PROCEEDINGS
Boil the potatoes (buy baked potatoes or old potatoes, very dry and that don't absorb too much water) and, Once cooked, peel and crush them while they're still hot. If you prefer, you can also steam potatoes or microwave potatoes. Allow to cool.
Drain tuna from excess oil (or from water if you have chosen the one to the natural) and shred it by hand. Join it with potatoes. Add the whole egg, the chopped basil (you can use it as an alternative’ parsley or lemon thyme), finely chopped capers and grated lemon zest. Add the grated cheese, if you've decided to put it, then add salt and pepper to taste.
Taste the mixture to see if it's tasty enough. Mix with a spoon until you get a firm and homogeneous mixture. If the potatoes are as dry as they should be, you won't need to add breadcrumbs, that would dry the dough making it less soft and flavorful. To make it easier to shape the meatballs later, let the dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
After the interval of rest, with damp hands form many large meatballs when a ping pong ball and breadcrumbs or cornflies, that I really like because it gives life to a crispy, dry breading.
Fried: Fry the meatballs in plenty of peanut oil or high oleic sunflower oil at 165 degrees (use the indispensable kitchen thermometer) until golden brown. They are both hot and cold.
IN THE OVEN: Preheat oven to 200 degrees static. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, grease with extra virgin olive oil and arrange the meatballs. Bake in a hot oven for about 15 minutes, turning them halfway through cooking. Meatballs must be golden, to speed it up you can, in the last minutes of cooking, move the oven to ventilated mode. Bon appétit!
