Sweet Potato and Tuna Fish Cakes

These cute little low carb fish cakes will forever be on my list of favourites. I gave them an Indian flavour profile which works very well with the sweet potato. They are baked, not pan-fried, so are super easy to make.

Serve them warm as a meal/snack or at room temperature (think lunchboxes). They are dairy-free and of course gluten-free and sugar-free, too.

Ingredients:

  • 500 g sweet potato cubes (In South Africa we have a white and an orange sweet potato. The orange sweet potato is more watery than the white one, so for these fish cakes I prefer to use the white sweet potato. I have used the orange sweet potato successfully in this recipe several times, but it is vital that the sweet potato mash is drained very, very well.)
  • 1 extra-large egg
  • 2 teaspoons grated ginger root
  • ¼ cup finely chopped onion
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh coriander leaves (dhania)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • ½ – 1 teaspoon medium curry powder
  • salt and milled black pepper to taste
  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon or more finely grated lemon rind
  • 170 g can light meat solid tuna or tuna chunks in brine, drained very well
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) coconut oil
  • olive oil to brush
  • lemon wedges to serve

Method:

  1. Boil or microwave the sweet potato. Mash. Drain very well in a sieve or colander. You should have 1½ – 2 cups of mashed sweet potato.
  2. Add the sweet potato mash, egg, ginger, onion, coriander, turmeric, curry powder, salt, black pepper, lemon juice, lemon rind and tuna to a bowl. Mix well with a fork, flaking the tuna as you stir.
  3. Melt the coconut oil and stir into the mixture.
  4. Place the mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes. No need to cover the bowl.
  5. Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC. Line a large baking tray with baking paper and brush the paper with olive oil.
  6. Remove the mixture from the fridge. Spoon 20 heaps of the mixture onto the paper. Flatten each slightly with the back of a fork. Brush the tops with olive oil.
  7. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baking tray from the oven. Very carefully turn the fish cakes. Bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove the baking tray from the oven and leave the fish cakes to cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the baking tray.
  8. Serve with lemon wedges.

Makes 20 fish cakes

Tips:

  • Replace the chopped onion with ¼ cup of chopped salad onions.
  • Replace the coriander with ¼ cup chopped parsley or chopped chives.