Fish Cakes with Tartar Sauce
I couldn’t possibly count the number of fish cakes I’ve eaten in my lifetime. As kids, we ate these so many times over summer using up the endless flathead Dad would catch in the bay. He was happy to fish and we were happy to eat.
Checking in with them recently, Mum confessed that instant potato flakes were part of their original recipe so excuse me for subbing in actual potato here. Tartar sauce was always home made though.
ingredients
- 150g potato, uncooked
- 175g white fish fillet, Hoki/flathead tail
- milk
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- cornichons
- capers
- parsley/chives
- lemon juice/pickle brine
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried dill
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp fine salt
- panko breadcrumbs
- frying oil (canola/sunflower)
Prick the skin of the potato a few times all over then place it in the microwave and cook on high power for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through. Exactly how long it takes will entirely depend on the wattage of your microwave. Slice it in half and let it cool.
Add enough milk to a shallow pan to cover the fish fillets and place on a low heat. Simmer very gently for several minutes so the fish is just cooked through. Remove the fillets from the milk and place to one side to cool.
Time for tartar sauce while waiting for the potato and fish to cool. Finely dice the cornichons and capers, and shred the fresh herbs. Stir this into the mayonnaise and loosen the mix with a little lemon juice or pickle brine. Taste and adjust for seasoning as required.
Flake the now cooled fillets into a mixing bowl, adding the chopped up potato. Sprinkle in the onion powder, dried dill, ground white pepper, lemon zest, and salt and blend well. Depending on how much moisture your fish and potato were carrying you’ll probably need to add a little extra to bind the cakes. You’ll probably need to work in a little extra moisture and mayonnaise is a great choice. Stir in a spoon at a time until it manages to hold a shape when pressed between your hands. Lower the cake into breadcrumbs and turn it over and around until all edges are covered.
Refrigerate the fish cakes to firm up before frying. Depending on portion size you’ll get 5 to 6 fishcakes in total. Smaller is better when it comes to fritters and fishcakes as you get more of the crunchy fried exterior but also they’re easier to handle without falling apart.
When ready to fry, add a few centimetres deep of oil into a fry pan and bring it up to heat. Gently lower the fishcakes into the oil. Cook until golden brown on one side then flip and crisp up the second side. Serve hot with lashings of tartar sauce.
