Fresh Tuna Meatballs with Creamy Avocado Dip

These fresh tuna meatballs are easy to make, delicious and healthy! Serve them with the creamy avocado dip for an extra special appetizer. 

While I love canned tuna fish, it is a completely different ingredient from fresh tuna steaks. Fresh tuna shouldn’t smell fishy at all. Like all fresh fish, it should have a nice clean smell and a nice clean taste. If you aren’t a fan of the canned stuff, consider giving fresh tuna a chance. 

If you are willing, look for bright pink flesh and choose the tuna steak with the least amount of white filaments running through it. Sushi grade tuna has none or almost none but who can find/afford that? 

We have a couple of ways we like eating fresh tuna. Most often, we like it sliced relatively thinly as sashimi. (Pop it in the freezer till it's almost firm and easier to slice.) A little wasabi and soy sauce for dipping purposes is all you need to make that fresh tuna a meal. But it’s also great packed with spices and seared on the outside, still a lovely pink on the inside. I serve it on a bed of greens. Delightful. 

The third way is in meatballs! 

Fresh Tuna Meatballs with Creamy Avocado Dip

These are really meaty so you can simmer them in a rich tomato sauce after baking to serve over pasta but they also make a great appetizer as below. This makes about 20 meatballs. 

Ingredients

For the fresh tuna meatballs:

1 1/4 lb or 560 fresh tuna fillets

1 large egg

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Zest 1 lemon

Olive oil for brushing on the meatballs before baking

For the creamy avocado sauce:

1 ripe avocado

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Water (to thin, if needed)

Method

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone liner. 

Cut the tuna into small chunks.

In a food processor, pulse about 2/3 of the tuna along with the egg, minced garlic, parsley, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and lemon zest until the tuna is finely chopped but not pureed.

Add in the reserved tuna and pulse again briefly.

You want to have some nice pink bits still showing. 

Take about 1 tablespoon of the mixture and form it into a patty.

 Pan fry until just cooked through and taste it for salt and pepper. 

Add more and mix through thoroughly, if needed. 

With damp hands, form the mixture into small meatballs (about 1 inch in diameter) and place them on the prepared baking sheet. I use a small scoop to measure them out, then use my damp hands to roll them in to smoother balls. Brush with a little olive oil. 

Bake in your preheated oven for about 10-12 minutes, or until cooked through and slightly golden on the outside. You can use the broiler to add a little extra color if you’d like but you don’t want to overcook them or the tuna meatballs can become dry. 

While the meatballs are baking, combine the avocado, garlic, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a food processor. 

Blend until smooth. Add water a little at a time to reach your desired dipping consistency.

Serve the baked fresh tuna meatballs with the creamy avocado dip and some toothpicks to facilitate dipping. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are all sharing meatball recipes. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out our WELL-ROUNDED (get it? I do crack myself up) list below.

• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Bacon Cheeseburger Stuffed Meatballs 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Coconut-Ginger Turkey Meatballs 
• Food Lust People Love: Fresh Tuna Meatballs with Creamy Avocado Dip 
• Sneha's Recipe: Keto Pan Fried Pork Meatballs 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Swedish Meatballs 
• Culinary Cam: Zuppa Maritata, a Misinterpreted Italian Wedding Soup 

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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 with Creamy Avocado Dip!

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Olive Cream Cheese Stuffed Celery

This olive cream cheese stuffed celery is a throwback recipe from the Sixties but it’s still just as deliciously tasty today. Savory, creamy AND crunchy. Mix, fill and munch! 

Not too long back, a friend of mine celebrated her 60th birthday by throwing a Sixties theme party. Guests were asked to contribute a dish from that decade and come dressed in Sixties attire. 

The fun food included salmon mousse made in a fish mold, deviled eggs, several Jello desserts, a spiky cheeseball shaped like a hedgehog, a multi-layered savory sandwich “cake” and pistachio marshmallow fluff, just to name a few. 

It was a super fun party and a delight to see what everyone brought and wore. At first I thought I didn’t have anything to wear that was Sixties worthy but then I remembered, I own a caftan! We need to bring those back. It is the most comfortable outfit ever for a party.

Olive Cream Cheese Stuffed Celery

This recipe makes a bunch of filling! My pictures show just half of the stuffed celery I made. Feel free to halve the quantities if you don’t need that many. I used the already cut celery stalks one can buy in a bag. 

Ingredients

2 lbs or 900g celery stalks, washed and cut into 3 sections each

2 packages (8 oz or 225g each) cream cheese, at room temperature

¾ cup, chopped, or 120g pimento-stuffed green olives

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

A few generous grinds of black pepper

Method

Thoroughly dry each piece of celery with paper towels. 

Mix the  chopped olives and garlic together in a large bowl.

Add in the cream cheese and black pepper in and mix until completely homogenous.

Use a plastic bag with a corner cut off or a piping bag to put a generous amount of cream cheese filling down the center indentation of each celery piece. 

Serve immediately or cover with cling film and refrigerate till ready to serve.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today my blogger friends and I are sharing nutritious nibbles. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on a Farm. Check out the links below. 

• Culinary Cam: Adventures in Bliss Balls 
• Sneha's Recipe: Beetroot Tikkis 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories : Fresh Tomato Salsa 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Fruit and Nut Bars 
• Our Good Life : Healthy Pizza Bites 
• Food Lust People Love: Olive Cream Cheese Stuffed Celery 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Peanut Butter Energy Balls (No Bake)

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Scotch Quail Eggs

Soft-boiled on the inside and crunchy on the outside, these tasty Scotch Quail Eggs are wrapped with sausage meat and covered in panko before frying. 

The culinary origin of Scotch eggs is much debated but what all the sources I can find do agree on is that they aren’t actually Scotch, that is to say, they don’t come from Scotland. 

More than likely, they are English with both a grocer called William J Scott & Sons in Yorkshire as well as the London gourmet food purveyor Fortnum and Mason claiming to have created them. Fortnum and Mason from as far back at 1738, predating the Yorkshire claim by close to 150 years. 

Whoever made the first ones, they are still on the menu in many pubs all over the United Kingdom. Normally made with hen’s eggs, they are a substantial snack. My quail egg version is much less filling, so they make an excellent addition to an appetizer spread or party table. 

Scotch Quail Eggs

Here in the States, your typical British sausage is hard to come by. Fortunately, we do have a company that makes them in Houston but you can substitute another raw pork sausage meat (not breakfast sausage though) with the caveat that American sausages are generally more coarse and saltier than their British counterparts. I buy my fresh quail eggs at local Asian supermarkets. 

Ingredients

20 quail eggs

1 lb or 450g Cumberland sausages 

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme plus more for garnish, if desired

1 large egg

1 tablespoon milk

1 cup or 70g panko

For frying: canola or other light oil

Method

Bring a small pot of water to a simmer. Ready a bowl of ice water nearby. 

For soft boiled, which is always my goal, put four quail eggs in the simmering water at a time. 

Leave to cook 2 1/2 minutes, stirring often so that they cook evenly. Remove the eggs with slotted spoon and put them in the ice water. 

Peel the ones in the ice water immediately, starting at the pointy end. Add four more quail’s eggs to the pot, remembering to stir so they cook evenly. Repeat till all the quails’ eggs are cooked and peeled.

 

I forgot to stir one batch and they were not cooked evenly so peeling them was a challenge. Hence those are sitting in spoons for support. They still made lovely Scotch eggs. 

Squeeze the sausage meat into a bowl, discarding the skins, then pick the thyme leaves off the sprigs and add them to the bowl. Stir well to mix. 

Beat the egg in a shallow bowl with the milk. Place the panko into another bowl.

Weigh the sausage mixture and then divide it into 20 equal pieces. 

Shape the sausage around the quail eggs.

Carefully pinch the sausage around the egg and roll into a ball. 

At this point, you can continue with the preparation or chill in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. 

Roll each ball in the beaten egg.

Then in the panko until fully coated.

Using a thermometer, heat about 2 in or 5cm of oil in a deep pan to 350°F or 180ºC and very carefully fry the Scotch eggs in batches of three, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown, turning halfway through so the sausage layer is fully cooked. 

Remove with caution and drain on paper towels. Put some newspaper or a brown paper bag underneath for more absorption. I lower the Scotch eggs in and remove them with a slotted spoon, so the oil can’t splash and burn me. I recommend you do the same. 

Serve warm.

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay so today we are sharing nibbles for New Year's Eve! Many thanks to our host, Camilla of Culinary Cam. Check out the link list below. 

• Seared Scallops in Lobster Creme from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Boiled Egg Sandwiches from Sneha's Recipe
• Cranberry Brie Bites from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Fried Cheesy Pickles from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• From Cheesy to Chocolatey - Using My Caquelon All Evening Long from Culinary Cam
• Mushroom Duxelle on Toast from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Scotch Quail Eggs from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Charcuterie Picnic Boxes

These charcuterie picnic boxes are filled with delicious cheeses, fruit, nuts, deli meats and crunchy vegetables. Portable snacking kicked up a tasty notch! 

Whenever our daughters fly out to visit us, we always prepare “car snacks” to be eaten on the way home from the airport. These usually include cheeses, salami, ham and vegetables like baby carrots. 

When I saw the Sunday FunDay theme of charcuterie boards for today’s event, I decided to make an elevated version of our “car snacks” which would also be perfect for road trips or picnics on the go.

As you can see from the photos, I used 28oz. Hefty containers but truly, any short, wide container would work. Do make sure the lids snap on securely though to keep the food from drying out and for ease of transport.

Charcuterie Picnic Boxes

These can be made ahead of time and stored in a refrigerator. Add the crackers just before you hit the road so they don’t get soft and stale. 

Ingredients

Baby cos or little gem lettuce leaves

Sliced meats – salami, prosciutto, summer sausage, bresaola, etc.

At least two semi soft or hard cheeses 

Dried and/or fresh fruit – blackberries, dried figs or apricots, grapes, etc.

Bite-sized vegetables -radishes, baby carrots, grape tomatoes, little pickles, etc.

Nuts – walnuts or pecans work great

Optional: stuffed peppers or olives from your grocery store deli counter

Your favorite crackers

Method

Line a container with leaves of baby cos or little gem lettuce.

Add in wedges of cheese like Camembert and slices of, perhaps, extra mature cheddar.

Roll your sliced meats or form them into little flowers and tuck them in between the cheeses. 

Add in the rest of your ingredients, trying to make a pretty mix of flavors and colors. For an extra cheese/veggie element, I added blue cheese stuffed olives from my grocery store deli counter. Little radishes add crunch and color. 

Finally, pulling the lettuce leaves forward slightly to make room, tuck crackers around the sides of the container. (See note above ingredients list if not serving immediately.)

Happy trails and enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing our creative charcuterie boards. Many thanks to our host, Mayuri from Mayuri’s Jikoni. Check out the links below.

• Culinary Cam: A Grazing Board for Gratitude 
• Food Lust People Love : Charcuterie Picnic Boxes 
• Our Good Life: Christmas Grazing Board 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Mexican Vegetarian Grazing Board 
• Sneha's Recipe : Sandwich Charcuterie Board 
• Palatable Pastime : Thanksgiving Turkey Charcuterie Board 
• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Turkey Charcuterie Board 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Turkey Trot Sandwich Board 

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

These tasty stuffed portabella mushrooms are filled with well-seasoned pork, fresh spinach and tomato, roasted until golden brown. They make a rather hearty appetizer or serve as part of the main course with sides.

I have to start off today with an apology. Somehow most of the process photos for this recipe have gone missing so I have none to show you the steps of wilting the spinach, sautéing the vegetables or assembling the stuffing. 

It’s not complicated though so I hope my directions will suffice. We loved these stuffed mushrooms so much that I still wanted to share them. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. 

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

Once I had mixed the stuffing together, I weighed it so I could divide by four and know how big to make the patties. The whole weight was 650g so each mushroom is filled with 162g of stuffing.  For those of you who do ounces, that's 23 1/4 oz and 5.8 oz, respectively. 

Ingredients

2 good handsful or 50g baby leaf spinach

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic

1 shallot

1 small tomato, cored

1 small red chili pepper

4 large Portobello mushrooms

1.1 lb or 500g lean ground pork

several sprigs fresh cilantro, hard stems removed, plus more for garnish

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt and/or Cajun seasonings, to taste

Method

Cook the spinach with a drizzle of water in a covered pan until wilted. Scoop it into a strainer over a bowl and leave to drain.

Trim the stems from the mushrooms and discard any hard bits. Chop the tender parts. 

Mince the garlic, shallot, tomato, chili pepper and cilantro stems. 

Add the olive oil to the pan along with the minced vegetables and mushroom stems. Cook till softened, occasionally stirring and adding in any water that has dripped from the spinach. 

Remove from the heat and transfer to a mixing bowl that will fit the pork as well. Leave to cool. 

Use the back of a spoon to squeeze as much of the spinach water as you can into the pan, then tip the spinach on a cutting board and chop finely with a sharp knife. 

Add the spinach to the bowl with the sautéed vegetables. 

Once everything is cool, add in the pork, seasoning it with about a 1/2 teaspoon of fine sea salt or, if you prefer, Cajun seasonings. Mix well.

If cooking to serve immediately, preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Remove a small teaspoon of the stuffing mixture and cook it in a small frying pan. Taste when cooked through and add more salt or seasonings to the stuffing, if needed. 

Form your stuffing into four large patties (see note just above ingredient list) and place one on top of each mushroom. Press down gently. Drizzle the tops with olive oil. 

N.B. The prepared mushrooms may be covered with cling film and refrigerated for several hours, until you are ready to cook them. They will take a little longer to cook through when chilled. 

Roast the stuffed mushrooms in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until the stuffing is browned and cooked through. 

Garnish with a little more cilantro, if desired.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today, this first day of September, we are celebrating National Mushroom Month by sharing mushroom recipes. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm.  Check out the recipe links below. 

• Sue of PalatablePastime served up Chicken and Mushrooms in Wine Sauce
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm made Mushroom Paprikash with Homemade Spaetzle
• Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni created Mushroom Spinach Hand Pies
• Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures shares Sauteed Mushrooms, Onions, & Peppers
• Stacy of Food Lust People Love made Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms
• Renu of Cook with Renu served up an Easy Vegan Mushroom Pulau (Instant Pot Lunchbox Recipe)
• Sneha of Sneha's Recipe shares Red Pepper Mushroom

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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