Fishcakes with Parsley Sauce
The British are famous for fish and chips, but another maritime dish, fishcakes, is every bit as British.
Fishcakes represent two important characteristics of British life: proximity to the sea and frugality. Frugality because fishcakes are often made with leftovers, following the axiom that remnants of any food can be combined with remnants of any other food to make a perfectly tasty new dish. And indeed it’s true.
Of course the dish does not have to be made with leftovers. Feel free to make it from scratch. But if you should have some cold potatoes and a bit of fish in the fridge, look no further for your next meal. It’s a versatile recipe that can be served for lunch, with a green salad and a wedge of lemon. Or it can be dressed up for dinner with rice pilaf and vegetable of choice.
Pour yourself a glass of chilled white wine and away you go!
Ingredients
- 1lb mashed potato
- 1lb cooked salmon (if using raw fish, poach in milk and allow to cool)
- 2 Tbsp fresh parsley
- salt and pepper
- 2 oz all purpose flour
- 6 oz Panko bread crumbs
- 2 large eggs
- canola oil
- For the Parsley Sauce:
- 1 oz butter
- 1 oz of all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Flake fish into chunks and remove any bones and skin.
- Chop the parsley and mix with fish and mashed potato. Try not to break up the fish too much.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Divide the mixture into six balls and flatten to form patties.
- Place in the fridge to chill for 45-minutes.
- Beat the eggs and in a shallow bowl and spread the flour and breadcrumbs on separate plates.
- Season the flour with salt and pepper.
- Dip fishcakes into flour, then egg and finally bread crumbs to coat well.
- Place on tray lined with parchment paper.
- (Fishcakes can be prepared up to 24hours ahead)
- To cook fishcakes, preheat oven to 400ºF and heat oil in frying pan.
- Fry fishcakes in batches for four minutes per side until golden on each side.
- Place cakes on baking tray and finish coking in oven for ten minutes.
Parsley Sauce:
- Melt butter in saucepan.
- Gradually add flour while stirring with a spoon.
- Slowly add milk and continue stirring.
- Simmer for three or four minutes until sauce has thickened.
- Season with salt and pepper.