Three vegan seafood recipes you won’t believe are fish-free

There’s no catch with these guilt-free vegan seafood recipes, says Keely Doll

Maria Koutsogiannis promises this vegan melt will change your life. (Good Catch Tuna)

Seafood picnic recipes that are also better for our oceans? Sign me up!

Industrial fishing practices are pulling huge numbers of tuna from the sea, damaging the oceans and communities that rely on them. But that’s not all: tuna are often caught using longline fishing, a technique that attaches baited hooks at intervals to a singular line. Hundreds of thousands of hooks can be attached to a single line. The practice is considered inhumane by some due to the fact that other animals like turtles, dolphins and sharks can also get hooked and killed.

These recipes using plant-based tuna from Good Catch are the perfect way to enjoy “tuna” guilt-free. The brand uses a six-plant blend to mimic the taste, with flavors such as Mediterranean, Oil and Herb, and Natural in Water.

Food blogger Maria Koutsogiannis from @foodbymaria created these three recipes that will change your meat-less Mondays for good.

Easy vegan Mediterranean tuna salad

This salad is packed full of veggies, perfect for a crisp summer salad (Good Catch Tuna)

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the salad:

300-450g cooked rice

For the butternut squash:

615g butternut squash, large cube

2 tbsp olive

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

For the kale:

1 bunch fresh kale, finely chopped

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Juice of half a lemon

For the cucumber:

1 cucumber, minced into thin round slices

1 tbsp olive oil

Juice of half a lemon or 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar*

1 tbsp dry dill spice

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

For the radish:

Small bunch of radish, minced into thin round slices

1 tbsp olive oil

Juice of half a lemon or 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar*

1 tbsp dry dill spice

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

For the tuna:

2 packets of Good Catch Tuna – Oil and Herbs

1 tbsp dry dill spice

1 tbsp olive oil

60g chopped green and black pitted olives

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Juice of half a lemon or 3 tbsp caper juice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Into a large bowl mix together all your butternut squash ingredients and place onto the baking sheet.  Bake for around 30 minutes or until golden brown, buttery and perfect.

3. While your butternut squash baked prepare your kale, cucumber, radish and tuna mixture.

4. For the tuna, simply add all your ingredients into a medium-sized bowl and stir vigorously until everything is well combined. Let it sit and marry while you prep the rest of your ingredients.

5. For the kale, add your ingredients into a large bowl and massage aggressively till your kale is shiny, softer but still crunchy in texture. I promise you, this is game-changing for your kale game.

6. For the cucumber and radish, simply add the ingredients for them (in separate bowls) and stir till combined. Set aside.

7. Remove the butternut squash from the oven and begin assembling your little bowls of nourishment.  I put it together in this order: butternut squash, kale, radish, cucumber, rice and tuna.

Tuna melt

Like the real thing, but better (Good Catch Tuna)

Makes:3 servings

Ingredients

2 packets Good Catch Foods Vegan Tuna

6 tbsp cup vegan mayo

3 tbsp lemon

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

3 tbsp jalapeños, soaked in brine, squeezed and cut finely

1 tbsp jalapeños brine juice

3 tbsp capers, soaked in brine, squeezed to remove excess liquid

3 tbsp dill pickle, finely chopped

15g red onion, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 tsp chili flakes

6 pieces marble rye bread

6 slices vegan cheese of choice

Method

For the tuna:

1. Into a large bowl combine all you ingredients, stir lightly and set into the fridge overnight. Cover with wax paper.

For the tuna melt:

1. Generously butter both sides of your rye bread. Place two pieces onto a hot skillet and cook on medium heat for around 1 minute or until golden. Flip the bread and scoop 3-4 large tablespoons of your tuna mixture on one side of the bread. Place your vegan cheese on top and cover with the other side of bread. Using a spatula lightly place pressure onto the sandwich. Cook for around 2 minutes then flip and repeat kill cheese is melty and they sandwich has flattened and remains in position.

2. To serve, cut in half and enjoy with chips, salad or on it’s own. This melt is going to change your life, it’s so good!

Tuna lemon pasta

This protein rich pasta only has six ingredients (Good Catch Tuna)

Ingredients

2 servings choice of pasta – cooked – I went with spaghetti

60ml reserved pasta water

2 tbsp olive oil

3 large cloves of garlic, pressed

1 packet Good Catch Foods Tuna (I always use naked in water)

Juice of a half a large lemon

15g fresh parsley

Method

1. Cook desired amount of pasta in well-salted boiling water. Follow pasta package instructions for cooking time. But please note, you should not overcook your pasta. Make sure it’s al dente.

2. Heat a medium-sized frying pan on medium-low heat for 20-30 seconds. Add your olive oil and let the olive oil heat for around 15 seconds before adding your garlic. 

3. Cook down your garlic for around 3-4 minutes, or until your home is completely fragrant and the garlic has become more golden.

4. Increase your heat to high and add your tuna, using a fork, break apart the tuna into smaller pieces. Cook for 4 minutes and stir often to avoid burning. Now you can add your lemon. 

5. Give the mixture a good stir, you will notice little bubbles starting to develop around the sides of that pan. That’s when you want to decrease the heat to low and add your pasta. Using tongs give the dish a good stir and increase heat to medium while adding the reserved pasta water. 

6. Cook for around 2 minutes before adding your parsley.

7. Serve hot with garlic bread and your favourite veggies.

Notes: You could also add ingredients like:

• Vegan butter – when you add the olive oil.
• White wine – before adding pasta to pan – great for deglazing the pan. I highly suggest doing this if you’re looking to spice this recipe up even more.
• Capers – when you add your garlic.
• Nutritional yeast – when you add your pasta and seasoning to the pan.

For more plant-based tuna recipes, visit the Good Catch website, here.