I don’t think anybody is going to reward me here for busting open a can of salmon and presenting it as dinner.
But then again, what home cook gets rewarded for anything they do, god damn it? Cooking of an evening is often a thankless task, and sometimes you’re hungry, and sometimes there’s some mashed potato leftover in the fridge, and sometimes we’re knackered, and sometime we just think you know what, I’m not cooking for rewards, I’m cooking because I want to eat something delicious with no fuss. Fish don’t get clapped for swimming, so why should I?
And it’s in moments like that you just open up that can of tinned salmon and say f*** it.
I must say, cynicism aside, I do loves a fishcake. There’s something incredibly maternal about a fish cake that harkens back to grandmothers serving them of an evening, complete with the penny and Heartbeat on in the background. Maybe your nan though, because I don’t think my nan would have ever served a fish cake, but there is something nostalgically inviting about the crispy, golden exterior that houses a densely compact, fluffy fish potato cake inside.
I know canned seafood comes with snobbery, but I’m leaning into here. Not only do these fishcakes have tinned salmon in them, but they also have tinned crab, which feels oddly decadent, considering that it comes from a can? Fluffy, briny, soft, salty – it’s perfect for the somewhat smoky but, let’s face it, bland salmon.
I feel incredibly productive when I’ve made a fishcake. I would never make mashed potato from scratch purely for this recipe, but when I do make mashed potato, I certainly try to make a little extra and save it in the fridge in small portions so that I have the wherewithal for this recipe of an evening. I even freeze leftover mash in little ziplock bags in the freezer and store them like flat envelopes for when such a craving comes.
It’s not the most elegant of meals, I admit, but I do like to serve them with a sharp, punchy side salad of bitter leaves, fennel, capers and lemon. Why? Because then I don’t feel like a six-year-old in the canteen, and I feel like the fully-grown adult that I am making conscious decisions.
Plus, the creamy, salty-sweet, approximately spiced fishcakes need something with a bite on the side. The flavours components of the salad cuts through the richness, rounding out the experience.
I’ve embraced can-cooking on this blog so many times, so it’s strange to sign off this post with a further encouragement to embrace the tins in the supermarket or in your store cupboard, but there we go. Call it sustainable, call it budget-friendly, call it brilliant, whatever you do, just call it. You won’t regret it.
Oh, and before I forget, this also work wonderfully with any Leek, Cheese & Potato Pie you might have knocking about. In fact, make that first and save some specifically for this.
You will not regret it.
Serves 3 – 4
For the fishcakes
350 – 400g cold mashed potatoes
1 x 120g can salmon (well drained, flaked, bones/skin removed if needed)
1 x 120g can crab meat (well drained)
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp mustard powder
A grating of fresh nutmeg
1 clove garlic
1 lemon
A handful freshly chopped parsley
1 egg
1tbs plain flour
60g panko breadcrumbs
2 – 3 tbs butter + 1 tsp olive oil (for frying)
For the salad
1 tsp caper brine
1 small orange
1 lime
2 tbs olive oil
1 small fennel bulb
1 stick celery
1 small handful bitter leaves i.e. radicchio, frisee etc
1 tbsp capers
A handful of chopped walnuts
- In a large bowl, tip in the cold mashed potatoes with the well-drained salmon and crab meat. Add the paprika, mustard powder, and grate in a little nutmeg. Using the same grater, mince in the garlic, and grate in the zest of the lemon – but keep the lemon for later. Add the freshly chopped parsley with a generous throw of salt and black pepper. Taste the mix at this stage to adjust seasoning if needed. It will feel weird tasting a bowl of seafood mix, but it will taste good.
- Now add in the egg and plain flour and mix until all is thoroughly combined. Use a spoon if you’re squeamish, but I tend to just get in with my hands because you’ll need to use them now in a minute anyway.
- Form into small patties (I’d go for 6 – 8, you don’t want them too big) and them place them on a plate or tray and chill in the fridge for at least 20 – 30 minutes. If I’m being a good boy and being very productive, I often do this in the morning and leave them in the fridge until the evening when I need them, but either way, when you’re ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Take the fish cakes out of the fridge and then tip the panko breadcrumbs into a shallow dish. Press each fishcake gently into the panko, coating both sides as best as you can, using your hands to help coat the sides too.
- In a large frying pan over a medium heat, heat the butter and olive oil until the butter is frothing and then fry the fishcakes for 3 – 4 minutes per side until the coating is golden and crispy, working in batches, and adding more butter and oil in between batches if necessary. In between batches, pop the fried fishcake on a roasting tray and keep them in the oven to stay warm.
- When all cakes are fried, keep them in the oven for about 10 – 15 minutes just to maximise the crunch on the cake, and to warm the cake through.
- Remove the fishcakes from the oven, half the lemon from earlier and squeeze the juice over the cakes – watch the pips. Leave them rest on the tray for 5 – 10 minutes to cool and firm a little, otherwise you risk them falling apart too soon.
- While the cakes rest, assemble your salad. I always start with the dressing, which is a simple combination of the brine from the caper jar, the juice of the orange and lime, and the olive oil, stirred together until combined at the bottom of a large salad bowl. Taste a little – remembering that salt and pepper are coming later – and adjust as needed, you may want a little more caper brine or you may want some more orange juice for sweetness.
- Now, shave the fennel and celery as thinly as possible. I like to do this with a mandolin (but first, for the fennel, cut off the green tubes, and keep them in the freezer for stock) but you can also cut them thinly with a knife and a patient, steady hand.
- Add the fennel and celery to the bowl of dressing, along with the leaves (hand torn for ease) and the capers, using your hands to toss everything together so that everything is coated lightly but not drenched.
- On top of this salad, sprinkle the chopped walnuts and add some salt and pepper. You can toast your walnuts – it will make them much better, toastier, and richer – but sometimes I just can’t be bothered after I’ve just fried the fish cakes and use the oven. They’ll be better toasted, but absolutely fine if not.
- Serve the fish cakes with the salad with maybe a little warm bread on the side, and some more capers on offer.
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 