Tuna Cakes and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce with Spinach and Arugula Salad

YUM! This was so so tasty. All the components of the dish complimented each other beautifully and also tasted wonderful on their own. I couldn't believe how especially great the salad tasted.

I did make a change to the original recipe that helped save some money though... Cod is ridiculously expensive, so I used tuna instead. I don't know if I've had cod recently, so I'm not sure how different it made the dish, but it was lovely the way I made it. Try this as soon as possible.

Edited to add (3/24/2015): I tried this again, the first time since I originally made it, and it was a disaster. The cakes wouldn't stay together and ended up making a kind of fried tuna stuffing-type pile. The oil also kept spitting at me, which has left some pretty marks on my arms. Then there's the gargantuan amount of dishes and lovely lingering tuna stink it creates. It still tasted good, but man, what a pain in the ass. I'm not sure it's worth the hassle to try it again. 

Tuna Cakes and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
A variation on this recipe by Rachael Ray



4 5-ounce cans tuna, drained
Grated peel of 1 lemon and juice of 2 lemons, divided
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or oregano
A few dashes hot pepper sauce
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons grated onion and its juice
3 cloves garlic, grated or minced, divided
2 cups cracker crumbs or breadcrumbs, divided
2 eggs, beaten
Extra-virgin olive oil, for frying
3 roasted red peppers, patted dry and coarsely chopped
1 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Put tuna in a large bowl. Season with the lemon peel, half of the lemon juice, the parsley, Old Bay Seasoning, marjoram/oregano and hot sauce; season with salt and pepper. Add the onion and two-thirds of the garlic, then add half of the cracker crumbs and the eggs; stir to combine. Divide the mixture into quarters and form 3 patties from each quarter (12 patties total), about 3 1/2 inches wide. Coat the patties in the remaining cracker crumbs.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1/4 inch olive oil over medium heat. Add 5-6 patties at a time and cook, turning once, for 6 minutes.

Using a food processor, mix together the roasted red peppers, yogurt, dill and remaining lemon juice and garlic; season with pepper. Serve 3 patties per person, with the sauce and salad.

Spinach and Arugula Salad

4 cups spinach and arugula mix
Salt and pepper
Lemon wedges

Dress greens with salt, pepper, and lemon.