Friday 10 March 2017

Cod, Caper and Olive Potato Cakes


Fish cakes and tartare sauce have to be a favourite tea time food in our house. Tartare sauce - that sharp, acidic mayonnaise 'with bits in' (as my daughter says) - is the perfect accompaniment to a delicious crispy fish cake.

I've mentioned this in a previous post, but getting the little ones involved in something like a fish cake is an excellent way of experimenting with food and actually getting them to eat something different. It is also a great excuse to get out my favourite kitchen gadget, my £1 potato ricer.

Cod, Caper and Olive Potato Cakes
Makes 6 large cakes

Fillets of 1 large cod
Milk
Water
1 onion
1 lemon
2 bay leaves
4 large floury potatoes
1 handful of capers, rinsed and finely chopped
1 handful of black olives, preferably those salty Greek olives, stoned and finely chopped
4 small gherkins, finely chopped
50g butter
A handful of fresh chives, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Plain flour
Breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Olive oil

1 - Place the potatoes in a large pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then cook until they are cooked through. Leave to cool slightly, then peel and either mash into a bowl or use a potato ricer adding the butter.
2 - Place the cod fillets into a large shallow pan. Cover with roughly half milk, half water, a slice of lemon, a slice of onion, the bay leaves and some seasoning. Bring to the boil then simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Gently break the cod fillets into the potato, ensuring all bones and skin are removed.
3 - Stir in the capers, olives, gherkins, fresh herbs, a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Be gentle on the salt as the olives have plenty.
4 - Put the beaten eggs in a bowl, some seasoned plain flour on one plate and the breadcrumbs on another. Add enough olive oil to a non-stick pan to allow shallow frying and heat up.
5 - Shape the mixture into 'cakes' using floured hands. Dip them first into the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs and fry gently for approximately 7 minutes each side until golden and crisp. Place onto kitchen towel to absorb some oil, then serve with a simple green salad, tartare sauce or simply fresh lemon wedges.

12 comments:

Anh said...

Lovely! I have some salt cod at home. Do you think I can adapt your recipe to use that salt cod? perhaps I have to leave out the capers to reduce the saltiness...

KellytheCulinarian said...

What a good deal on the potato ricer. My mom only let us cook desserts. Does that explain a lot? :)

Joanna said...

Mmm, what a good combination of flavours ... good with a home-made tomato sauce, too, I should think

William Leigh said...

love it love it love it, you're a legend matey. fishcakes are such a classic, one of my all time faves. Going to try a kipper one some time soon too...
talk soon brother.

Cynthia said...

I love fish cakes and am always on the look out for new flavour combos and additions. Yours is definitely on the must-make list.

Wendy said...

Hmmmm, you might just have persuaded me to buy a ricer. Didn't really see the point in them before. :)

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Those would be eaten in an instant here!

David Hall said...

Hi Anh

You could absolutely adapt the recipe to include salt cod. That would be absolutely superb, salt cod, delicious! go for it and let me know the results.

Joanna, home made tomato sauce again would be superb.

As for the potato ricer, they are just the best, no more lumpy mash!

Cheers
David

Anh said...

David. I will try your recipe soon. I have tried another recipe, which was good but I wanna add more texture to it... Will need to soak my salt cod then try this! Thanks for answering my question.

Lynda said...

Yum the food of my childhood - but a million times better - I haven't thought about this dish for years - will have to give this a try, am sure the kidlet will like them.

I love my ricer - perfect for gnocchi - and I make a great dessert called Spagetti Ice...

Will have to post that on my blog - too easy and always gets applause.

winedeb said...

I really enjoy fish cakes. Living near the ocean, we are lucky to have fresh fish. So fish cakes are served at our house often. You have some interesting ingredients in yours that I will definetely be trying!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

I love fish cakes! My dad is a pseudo-vegetarian, which simply means he will eat fish, eggs and dairy. Mom would make fish cakes often. I love your flavour boosted version David !!!

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