There is a scene in A Series of Unfortunate Events where the Baudelaires ingeniously make pasta alla puttanesca from a destitute kitchen. I often unwittingly relive this scene in my own life.
What do you do when your pantry stock is running low? Sometimes you have to invoke some Baudelaire spirit to get through the night. Last night it was falafel-inspired chickpea and tuna patties.
Come of think of it, the patty is the ultimate pantry residue recipe. It’s basically a doughy amalgam of things that can stick together. Last night I happen to have half a can of leftover chickpeas and a pantry perennial: canned tuna.
Here’s what I did. I mashed the chickpeas with a fork. The yield was so few it was barely one and a half tablespoons. I proceeded to add tuna from the can, but only the really crushed bits. After all this was going to be mashed together anyway. I added minced garlic, dried herbs, and salt and pepper.
To patty-fy the thing I added flour and panko bread crumbs. I chanced on some raisins, too, so I chopped those and added them. I guess that helped with the binding. A drizzle of oil from the tuna helped turn it into a stable mush.
I managed to churn out eight balls the size of kumquats. I found love in a hopeless place! The remaining bigger chunks of tuna I cooked with some ssamjang, a Korean soybean paste, which is pretty great to have on hand. I topped it with an egg, shakshuka style.
Finally, I made a quick cayenne-mayo dip for the patties. It seemed to all go well with the turmeric-spiced steamed rice. It was a genre-less dinner, but a lovely night nonetheless.
