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Fancy fish cakes that are truly royal! These are a Lenten treat.
Fancy Fish Cakes
Back in the day, this was a favorite Friday meal when meat wasn’t allowed on that day. Of course, things have changed radically over the years, but fish cakes still remain a perennial favorite for supper. It was in my house growing up even though our religion didn’t require the fish on Friday.
Fish cakes are generally made with some variety of white fish and mashed potatoes. They are a simple and rather inexpensive meal–which is why they are forever popular. They still are a budget meal even with fish the price it is nowadays. The usual proportions are 50-50 of fish and potatoes, but they can be more economical by using a bit more potato to fish.
These Fish Cakes Get The Royal Treatment
These fancy fish cakes adheres to the basic proportions of fish to potato, but add a lot more into the mix.
There’s a bit of crab meat added for an interesting and fuller flavor. They also contain some green onion for a really savory flavor. And the seasonings? Who can beat a bit of Dijon mustard and a dash of hot sauce? Yes, the hot sauce may be omitted, but it’s such a light touch that it really only adds a bit of flavor and negligible heat.
Make Them Crunchy
My mom used to use regular breadcrumbs to dredge her fish cakes. These, however, use Panko crumbs for an extra crunch. That’s the perfect touch for such savory cakes!
And to make sure the crumbs adhere, you refrigerate them for at least 15 minutes prior to frying.
Now, when you fry them take a bit of care as fish cakes are pretty delicate and will fall apart if handled to aggressively. Since everything is cooked, all you have to do is brown them so turning once is all that’s necessary. It’s also important not to crowd the skillet–it’s best to fry in batches if you’re making a lot.
The Recipe
Royal Fish Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 lb baking potatoes russet, Idaho, maris piper, King Edward
- 1 lb cod filet
- 6 green onions finely chopped
- 2 tbs mayonnaise
- 2 tsp dijon mustard
- 5 oz flaked crab meat
- 2 tbs parsley chopped
- dash of hot sauce optional
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 tbs oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C
- Boil potatoes until tender. Drain well and mash. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
- Spray a sheet of foil with non-stick spray and put the cod on the foil, season with salt and pepper and seal the foil tightly, making a packet. Put on a baking tray and cook for 20 minutes, or until just cooked through. Set aside to cool. When completely cool, carefully flake the fish into large pieces. Reserve the cooking juices.
- Spoon the cold mashed potatoes into a bowl, mix in the spring onions, mayonnaise and mustard. Add 2 tablespoons of the fish cooking juice, then add the flaked cod and stir in the crabmeat. Add the parsley and hot pepper sauce and stir until combined. Season to taste.
- Shape the mixture into 8 fishcakes, roughly 3 1/2-in/9cm diameter, this is easiest with damp hands. Place on a tray and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.
- Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on a plate and coat each fishcake. Return to the tray and refrigerate again for 30 minutes.
- Heat a wide, heavy-based frying pan, add the butter and oil and fry the fishcakes over a high heat for 4 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown all over. When frying, it’s best not to overcrowd the pan, cook in two batches, if necessary.
Baltisraul says
We loved this recipe the minute we say it. Only problem is we are both on a low card diet and I might regret this but here are the changes we need to make to fit our profile. We will use cauliflower mashed potatoes and either almond flower, coconut flower or pork rind crumbs for the panko. Since these are being pan fried I will probably go with the crumbs. I will let you know how this turns out.
Judith Hanneman says
Let me know if the substitutions were successful. They’re pretty delicate when made with potatoes, but if you get it to work with low-carb substitutions, please let me know because many would appreciate that.