Mystery fish.

When at the markets on Saturday, we often take a look at what type of seafood is going cheap in the afternoon. It’s how this fish cakes recipe came about after buying some white fish at Sydney Markets.

Honestly, Sydney Markets are amazing. You can eat so cheaply but so incredibly well if you spend a little time going to the right places. With increasing financial pressures for most families in today’s economy, the little effort can save so much money.

At the markets, we sometimes we are able to score some cheap prawns, salmon or even squid. It depends on what is left over after the day’s trading and you can often get about 1kg of seafood for only a mere $5. Yes, I know this sounds unbelievable but it’s true!

So this time we got some white fish. I wouldn’t say I like fish that tastes heavily fishy. Unfortunately, many long weekends stuck on dad’s boat with bait baking away in the sun has put me off strong-tasting fish. While I tried to ensure it was a mild-tasting fish, it’s hard to get an answer from the fishmonger. The people next to you are shouting and shoving you while securing their own cheap seafood haul. Besides being a white fish, I had no idea what kind of fish it was! So this time it was a bit of a gamble but what the heck… was willing to give it a go.

When home, I decided the only way to deal with the situation was to make fish cakes from the fish. To me, this is a safe recipe when you don’t know what kind of fish you have! This fish cakes recipe is a bit of work but the result is pretty awesome. Incredibly flavoursome fish cakes that the whole family loved. There were definitely no leftovers after dinner!

Fish Cakes with Tartare Sauce

Fish cakes are a nice way to use up fresh fish you have available. This recipe packs a lot of flavour into the cakes, and much nicer than pre-made ones you buy from the supermarket. Serve with homemade tartare sauce and a green side salad to make this wonderful family meal.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

 

For the tartare sauce:

• 125 ml mayonnaise
• 1 heaped tablespoon capers, roughly chopped (rinsed and drained if salted)
• 1 heaped teaspoon creamed horseradish
• 1 heaped teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 small shallot, very finely chopped
• 1 tsp parsley, fresh & finely chopped

For the fish cakes:

• 450 g white flaky fish
• 2 bay leaves
• 150 ml milk
• 350 g potatoes
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon parsley, fresh chopped
• 1 tablespoon chives, chopped
• 1 egg
• flour, for shaping
• 85 g breadcrumbs
• 3-4 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil, for shallow frying
• lemon wedges, to serve

Instructions

 

• Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Set aside.
• Lay the fish and bay leaves in a frying pan. Pour over the milk and 150ml water. Cover, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 4 minutes. Take off the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes to gently finish cooking the fish.
• Meanwhile, peel and chop the potatoes into even-sized chunks. Put them in a saucepan and just cover with boiling water. Add a pinch of salt, bring it back to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender, but not broken up.
• Lift the fish out of the milk with a slotted spoon and put on a plate to cool.
• Drain the potatoes in a colander and leave for a minute 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.
• Take off the heat and beat in 2 tablespoons of the sauce, then the lemon zest, parsley and chives. Season well with salt and pepper. The potato should have a good flavour, so taste and adjust to suit.
• 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. You'll only need a couple of turns, or the fish will break up too much. Put to one side and cool.
• Beat the egg on a large plate, add flour into a bowl and spread the breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Divide the fish cake mixture into eight. With floured hands, carefully shape into eight cakes then cover each in flour, dip in egg and finally crumb. The entire fish cake should be covered in crumbs. Transfer to a plate, cover and chill for 30 minutes.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Fry each 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 and lemon wedges.

Notes

• To test when your oil is ready, drop a piece of the dry breadcrumbs in. If it sizzles and quickly turns golden brown, it is ready to use.
• You can prepare the cakes ahead of time and store covered in the fridge overnight before frying them up.
• You can also freeze the fish cakes between layers of cling film to defrost when convenient mid-week meals for the kids are needed.