Easy Peasy Fish Cakes

I love fish cakes. For me, they are the ultimate comfort food. The crispy breadcrumb outer combined with the creamy soft inside is just perfection. Fish cakes are pretty versatile. They can be poshed up with salad and a nice sauce for a dinner party, or dummed down with baked beans for an in front of the TV type supper.

Ingredients

600g Mashed potato
400g Any flaky fish (I used a 50:50 mix of cod and smoked haddock. Salmon also works well)
Milk for poaching the fish
Salt and Pepper to season
A handful of parsley or coriander chopped
The zest of 2 lemons
Flour
Panco breadcrumbs
2 Eggs
Oil for frying

Method

If you have left over mash, this is one of the perfect uses for it. If not, peel and chop your potatoes, and boil in salted water until soft. Drain and allow to cool before mashing and seasoning. While the potatoes are boiling, poach the fish in milk in a shallow pan. Drain and flake the fish.

Add the mash and flaked fish to a bowl, and grate in the zest of a lemon. Chop the herbs, add to the mash, and mix thoroughly. Shape the mixture into burger shaped rounds of about 150g each (or whatever size you prefer). Mini versions – around 50-60g work well as starter size. But obviously the small the cake, the more you will have, and the more work.

Drench the cakes in flour to stop them sticking And now comes the only downside to home made fish cakes. The messy bit!

Dip each fish cake in the egg, then in to the breadcrumbs. Make sure the whole cake and sides are coated.

These can sit in the fridge for a day before frying if needed. The fish cakes need virtually no oil on the pan. Lighly grease the pan rather than shallow frying to stop them getting to greasy, and only add more oil as needed. Once cooked, they can be kept warm, or reheated in the oven. These are one of my favourites for a lunch, or supper with a girl friend. I serve with tzaziki, salad and a wedge of lime.

But my guilty pleasure is with a dollop of home made baked beans, in my PJ’s on the sofa.

Easy Peasy Fish Cakes