Fish Cakes with Homemade Tartare Sauce Recipe
From Katie, of Auckland
Here is a recipe for the best fish cakes you will ever taste. My rather fussy eating 18 month old loves them. They are easy and fun to make and they look great. The secret is the homemade tartare sauce - it is delicious!
Ingredients
Serves 4. For fish cakes:
- 50g white fish
- 150ml milk
- 150ml water
- 350g potatoes
- 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tbsp fresh white flatleaf parsley, chopped
- 1 egg
- flour for shaping
- 85g fresh white breadcrumbs
- 3-4 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil, for shallow frying
For tartare sauce:
- 125ml mayonnaise
- 1 rounded tbsp roughly chopped capers
- 1 rounded tsp creamed horseradish
- 1 rounded tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp flatleaf parsley, finely chopped
Method
1. Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
2. Lay the fish in a frying pan. Pour over the milk and water. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 4 mins. Take off the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 mins to gently finish cooking the fish.
3. Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes into even-sized chunks. Put them in a saucepan and just cover with boiling water. Add a pince of salt, bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender, but not broken up.
4. Lift the fish out of the milk with a slotted spoon and put on a plate to cool.
5. Drain the potatoes in a colander and leave for a min or two. Tip them back into the hot pan on the lowest heat you can and let them dry out for 1 minute, mashing them with a fork and stirring so they don't stick. You should have a light, dry fluffy mash.
6. Take potatoes off the heat and beat in 1 rounded tbsp of the sauce, then the lemon zest, parsley. Season well with salt and pepper.
7. Drain off liquid from the fish, grind some pepper over it, then flake it into big chunks into the pan of potatoes. Using your hands, gently lift the fish and potatoes together so they just mix. Put to one side and cool.
8. Beat the egg on a large plate and lightly flour a board. Spread the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Divide the fish cake mixture into four large or 6 small cakes.
9. On the floured board, and with floured hands, carefully shape into four cakes. One by one, sit each cake in the egg, and brush over the top and sides so it is completely coated. Sit the cakes on the crumbs, patting the crumbs on the sides and tops so they are lightly covered.
10. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. To test when ready, drop a piece of the dry breadcrumbs in - if it sizzles and quickly turns golden brown, it is ready to use.
11. Fry the fish cakes over a medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side or until crisp and golden.
Serve with the rest of the sauce (squeeze in a little lemon zest to taste), lemon wedges for squeezing over and a green salad.