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SMOKED SALMON FISHCAKES

I have just had to give my son a bath in the middle of the day.  

We have a busy weekend ahead of us so I thought I would stock the fridge with fishcakes.  They are brilliant fast food for a busy weekend and they taste better the day after they have been made.

My children really enjoy making them.  They love squashing all of the ingredients together with their hands.  Charlie got a little over excited and ended up with fishy potato all over his hair, hence the bath.

If you want a fun activity and delicious fish cakes here is the recipe ...

SMOKED SALMON FISHCAKES - Makes 10

Ingredients

500g Mashed potatoes (recipie below), 100g bread or breadcrumbs, 125g Smoked salmon, 100g Philadelphia, 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped chives, 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped dill, Rind of half a lemon, Juice from a quarter of lemon, Salt and pepper to taste

• Make the mash and let it cool
• Put the bread in a food processor and blitz till it is fairly fine breadcrumbs.  Spread the breadcrumbs out on dinner plate
• Put the mash into a mixing bowl and add the smoked salmon, Philadelphia, chives, dill, lemon rind, juice and salt and pepper
• Mix with your hands so all the ingredients are combined
• Wash your hands.  Scoop out a large tablespoon of mixture from the bowl and drop it on to the plate of breadcrumbs
• Cover the mixture with breadcrumbs and gently form it into the shape of a fishcake
• Place on a tray and pop in the fridge, preferably over night but if not then for at least an hour.  
• When you are ready to eat the cakes, drizzle each of them with a little olive oil which will give them a nice colour, and pop them in an oven for 25 minutes at 200 till they are golden and crispy

Cooking notes

These are great served with baby leaf salad in the summer or petit pois peas in the winter.  I serve one for a starter and two for a main.

If you don’t have fresh herbs then you can use frozen or dried for the dill. 

If you cook the fish cakes straight away the mixture will be too wet and the fishcake will go a big soggy in the oven and probably fall apart slightly.

I always make double the amount of breadcrumbs than i need and pop them in a plastic bag in the freezer for when i am running short on time.  They are great for a lot of different recipies, my favorite ones are rack of lamb or treacle tart.

Adapting

If you want these to have a little more kick add a little horseradish sauce to the mixture.

Mash - Makes 500g

500g Potatoes (I tend to use white), 50 mil Full fat milk, 1/4 Tablespoon butter, salt and pepper to taste 

• Peel and chop the potatoes into 3cm chunks, they need to be the same size so the cook evenly.  This should leave you with 450g of peeled and chopped potatoes
• Cover them with water and bring to boil, turn down to a gentle simmer for about for about 20 minutes until they are soft.  When they are cooked you should easily be able to put a fork through them
• Drain potatoes
• Add the milk and butter to the pan, let it heat up.  By heating the milk you get a much smoother mash.     
• Take the pan of the heat and pop in the potatoes with salt and pepper and mash.  If the mash is to thick for you then you can always add extra cold milk.  
• When you are happy with the consistency of the mash and confident there are no lumps left in it, get a fork and beat the mash for 30 seconds, this will make the mash really smooth

 

FISH PIE

My brother and his wife live in Toronto.  They rang me a couple of weeks ago to let me know that I was going to be an Aunty.  I am so excited.

My brother has a knack for finding entertaining, slightly ... who am I kidding, very naff presents.  He surpassed himself today ... I opened a parcel this morning, inside were two t-shirts for the children, one pink and one blue with “I am getting a brand new Canadian Cousin” on the front.

I laughed out loud.

My sister in law prefers fish to meat, so with them in mind I thought I would make a fish pie for my children for lunch, here is the recipie.

FISH PIE - Serves 4

Ingredients 

1kg Mashed potatoes (recipie below), 500g Raw fish, 150 mil Creme fraiche, 200 mil Double cream, 1 Tablespoon of fresh chopped chives, 1 Tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley, 1 Teaspoon Vegetable stock powder, 1 Lemon, Salt and pepper 

• Start with making the mash.  You need to do this first as you want it to be cold when you place it over the fish
• Once the mash is made rinse the fish in a sieve under the tap.  Shake of excess water and chop into chunks i normally do 3 cm square chunks and leave king prawns whole.
• Place the fish into an oven proof dish.  The fish should come half way up the dish, you might need to try a couple of dishes till you get the correct size one.
• Mix the following ingredients together (I tend to mix them in the measuring jug so there is less washing up): creme fraiche, cream, chives, parsley, rind from half a lemon, juice from a quarter of the lemon, vegetable stock, a pinch of salt and pepper. 
• Pour the cream mixture over the fish mix gently and flatten with the back of the spoon so pretty much all the fish is covered in the cream.
• Once the mash has cooled spoon it over the fish, spreading it out with a fork so you get lines on the top of the pie. 
• Cook immediately or store in fridge
• When you are ready to cook preheat the oven to 220 and place the fish pie on the top shelf for 20 minutes (25 if the fish pie has been in the fridge).  Once cooked it should be pipping hot with the cream bubbling through the potato 

Cooking notes

If you don’t have a lemon rinder then use a grater.  If you are worried about what dish to use, the dish I use for this is an oval one that is 12.5 inches long, 9 inches wide and 2 inches deep.  

The mash should not quite fill the dish, leave 5 mil at the top of the dish.  This will stop the cream mixture bubbling up and overflowing into your oven, which can cause a lot of smoke and a burning smell.

Adapting

You can use any fish in this pie, I normally use a mixture of cod, salmon and raw king prawns. 

Mash - Makes 1kg

1Kg Potatoes (I tend to use white), 100 mil Full fat milk, 2 Tablespoons butter, salt and pepper to taste 

• Peel and chop the potatoes into 3cm chunks, they need to be the same size so the cook evenly.  This should leave you with 1800g of peeled and chopped potatoes
• Cover them with water and bring to boil, turn down to a gentle simmer for about for about 20 minutes until they are soft.  When they are cooked you should easily be able to put a fork through them
• Drain potatoes
• Add the milk and butter to the pan, let it heat up.  By heating the milk you get a much smoother mash.     
• Take the pan of the heat and pop in the potatoes with salt and pepper and mash.  If the mash is to thick for you then you can always add extra cold milk.  
• When you are happy with the consistency of the mash and confident there are no lumps left in it, get a fork and beat the mash for 30 seconds, this will make the mash really smooth