Tuna patties

These meaty-but-not-meat patties are a favourite of the vegacquarian in my life. The patties can be prepared ahead and kept in the fridge until cooking.

Ingredients
500g potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely diced
480g tinned tuna in olive oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Salt and pepper for seasoning
Olive oil for frying
To coat
1/2 cup plain flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup breadcrumbes

Making them
1. Peel the potatoes, boil until tender, transfer to a bowl and mash
2. Meanwhile, place the oil, onion, capsicum and a pinch of salt in a fry pan and saute on low to medium heat until softened. Add to the potatoes, season with salt and pepper, and combine.  Allow to cool slightly.
3. Drain tuna well then flake and add to bowl along with egg and parsley. Combine well.
4. Divide the mixture into eight equal portions and then shape into patties. To coat, set up three bowls, one with flour, one with egg, one with breadcrumb. Coat each patty in flour, then with egg, then with bread crumbs, patting firmly after the breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for at least half an hour, then fry in oil and combine with your favourite burger ingredients!

Parlour Burger, Sydney CBD

It’s a pretty simple formula at Parlour Burger, Sean Connolly’s offshoot of The Morrison and right next door to it. The burgers, each a tenner, a few sides, order at the bar and grab a number, then take a seat. He apparently decided to do this after noticing they were selling large volumes of The Morrison Burger a week, though I’m sure the much talked of success of Chur Burger – who has a similar formula – helped.

The menu is short and sweet – five burgers, four sides .

Pictured in order, we tried the chicken, fish and black widow burger (there is some kind of charcoal added to the bun to make it black). You’ll notice straight away that they aren’t big burgers, slightly bigger than a slider, so if you’re a big eater or very hungry one probably won’t do the trick. I liked the chicken and quinoa that I tried, but found the ceasar mayo too salty. My dining companions gave theirs the thumbs up.

The fries, I thought, were incredibly small for $8 – this photo is before we’d eaten any, they weren’t half finished (have a look at the photo on their website! Ours is not the heaped plate depicted!). And they were nothing special, so give them a miss.

What I did like was the cabbage slaw, finely sliced and with a good acidic dressing.

So the verdict – it is “ok”. The burgers aren’t going to blow your mind, but for a quick, unfussy meal, it’s not bad, and I’d come here before Bridge Street Garage.

Parlour Burger, 225 George Street, Sydney, ph 02 9247 6744
http://parlourburger.com.au/