More fishcakes?

Yes, more fishcakes! We are really having a fish moment here at S&H so I hope you like seafood!

Salmon-version this time, served with flash-fried baby asparagus in a balsamic vinegar reduction sauce – an easy weekday dinner for you to try. The recipe is open to improvisation, if you want to add a particular kind of spice or vegetable into the mix (as long as it’s not too chunky).

Salmon fishcakes:

You will need:

• two heaping tablespoons of breadcrumbs
• about 600 g cooked salmon
• about 300 g cooked potatoes (smashed/mashed with a fork) – however many fishcakes you’re making just remember to keep the potato/salmon proportion 1:2.
• tablespoon chopped parsley
• 2 medium-sized eggs, lightly beaten
• capers (if you like them)
• whatever seasonings you’d like (I used herbed salt, a bit of pink pepper) + sour cream or creme fraiche to serve

(Make ‘grill marks’ by going over the plastic wrapped fishcakes with a fork or the blunt side of a knife.)

Fishcakes are so quick and easy to make though you’d have to remember that in this instance, you have to have already cooked salmon on hand or have to plan ahead to cook it before you start. The salmon should be soft and flaky.

1. Use you fork to mash together the potatoes and the salmon so that the mixture is relatively fine and combined but not so homogeneous that you can’t tell what’s in there:). You still want to feel/taste the texture of the fish.
2. Season and mix in parsley and egg until well-combined.
3. Shape into flat patties and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate (for an hour or so) to get them to firm up. If you’re really pressed for time, you can cut some corners here but, I warn you, you will then have to be very careful when flipping the fishcakes to make sure they don’t come apart.
4. Heat up oil in a wide flat pan. Coat eat patty lightly in breadcrumbs and shallow fry, about 4 minutes on each side, depending on how big you made them! They will be slightly golden on the crumbed parts. I keep the crumb layer pretty thin because I don’t want a whole ‘shell’ covering the fishcake but this all depends on your own preference.
5. Remove from heat, drain on paper towel and serve warm with creme fraiche.

Asparagus

(in season in some parts of the world already!)

Lightly salt some baby asparagus and flash fry in a small amount of good olive oil with two cloves of young garlic. Keep it warm while you make the sauce.

I am lucky in that a very thoughtful friend brought me back some lovely balsamic from Italy last year and the aged taste is so perfectly sweet and acidic at the same time, it really doesn’t need a lot of work – just gentle heat to let it thicken (at a light simmer) and then add some cold butter, in what I can currently [it is 11:18 pm] describe as mini-oreo-sized pieces, one at a time, until the butter is completely dissolved and the reduction is smooth and glossy. Dip the asparagus in the sauce and enjoy!