How to make fish cakes – recipe

Fish cakes are another great way to enjoy potatoes and fish, and here's a step-by-step guide to making them

Fish cakes have been off the menu in recent years, which is a shame, because it's a delicious way to take what is, admittedly, an expensive ingredient, one step further. Based on one of culinary's greatest love stories, fish and chips, they can adapt almost infinitely to suit your audience and what you have on hand, so feel free to play around.

• Preparation 25 min
• Cook 25 minutes
• Serving 2
• 400g potato starch (for example, maris pipers)
• Salt
• 250g fish (see step 3)
• 1 tbsp chopped chives
• 1 tbsp capers (see step 7)
• 2 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped
• 1 egg, beaten
• 40 gr flour, for coating
• 100 grams of dry bread flour
• Generous butter buttons
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 Prepare the potatoes

Peel the potatoes, then cut them into equal sized pieces. Starch potatoes are best here, as new, waxy potatoes will have a hard time holding up.

Sweet potatoes also work, either alone or in combination with the white variety, and you can also add about 75g of broccoli, broken into small florets, peas, or finely diced carrots to the pot of potatoes towards the end of cooking.

2 Boil and mash the potatoes

Put the potatoes in a large pan with a little salt and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until tender, but not mushy.

Drain, return briefly to hot pan to drain, then crush coarsely so that it becomes a mixture of mash and larger lumps.

3 Choose your fish

You can use almost any fish you like here, though I think a mix is best - something smoked, something white and something oily, for example.

Fish pie mix will work, while fishmongers are often happy to remove leftovers for cheap. Or go the seafood route – crab works wonders; Larger shrimp should be chopped.

4 Or use frozen or canned

Defrost frozen fish or seafood before using, and drain all cans. If it's in water, you can remove it (or add it to pet food, as long as it's not salted), but if it's in oil, you may want to mix it into the cake to flavor it later. , so save it for now.

5 Boil raw fish

Place fresh or thawed fish in a pot of water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for three to five minutes, depending on the size of the fillets, until the skin, if any, is removed. easily and the meat is just starting to break into bits – remember, you will be cooking it a second time later.

6 Fish flakes

Drain thoroughly, remove skin if necessary (I give this to the dogs) and set aside to cool. Break it into large flakes and add to the mashed potatoes. If using raw prawns, peel them and lightly fry them in a little oil until they turn pink, before adding them. And if you are using canned or ready-to-cook fish or seafood, add it at this stage.

7 Add flavors and shapes

Stir in the chives, capers, and anchovies (or seasonings of your choice, such as chopped dill and scallions, or chopped green chilies, grated ginger, and mustard seeds).

Season lightly, and stirring gently, add just enough beaten eggs to combine everything. Use your hands to shape the dough into four large cakes or six small cakes.

8 Flour, breadcrumbs and cool

Drive the remaining eggs into a shallow bowl, and place the flour and breadcrumbs in separate plates.

Dip each fish cake in the flour, then the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs, until completely coated. Refrigerate for at least half an hour (and up to 24 hours) to set.

9 Fry until golden

Place the butter and oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and, once the heat and foam has subsided, place in the fish cakes, gradually if the pan is small, and cook for five minutes until golden and nicely crusted underneath. Flip carefully, repeat on other side, then eat immediately.