Pan Fried Fish Cakes
Fish cakes can be served with a side salad of mixed greens along with a dollop of horseradish or herb crème fraîche. They can also be served with a slaw and a spoonful of aïoli or other mayonnaise. For a quick lunch or light meal, these cakes can also be served with a side green beans dressed in tomato vinaigrette. And if you prefer, they can be a light snack that hits the right spot, when nothing else will do.
Makes 12 Fish Cakes
Ingredients:
Vegetable cooking, for frying
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 celery stalk, finely diced
Salt, to taste
1 lime
1 pound cod fillet, or other mild white fish
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves and stems
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
3 1/2 cups Japanese Panko bread crumbs
4 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
Directions:
Heat a cast iron skillet to high and add 1/4 cup cooking oil, then the onion, carrot, celery, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir, lightly sauteing, then turn the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft and browned very lightly, about 20 minutes. Use a lid or a splash of water if it's coloring too much before getting soft. Turn the mirepoix out onto a clean plate and set it aside to cool completely. Grate 1/2 teaspoon zest from the lime and set it aside.
Chop the cod into 1/4-inch dice, place it in a medium bowl, and season it with 3/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper. In the bowl of a food processor, combine a quarter of the fish with the cream and pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the fish purée back to the bowl of chopped fish along with the cooled vegetable mixture, cilantro, crushed red pepper, lime zest, 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs, and 2 of the eggs. Stir with your hands and squeeze through your fingers to mix everything really well, then heat a skillet to medium, add a teaspoon of oil and fry a little piece for tasting. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper as needed and when you have the seasoning just right.
Prepare the breading: Beat the remaining 2 eggs in a wide, shallow bowl, put the flour in another bowl, and the remaining 2 cups bread crumbs in a third. Have a baking sheet ready to receive the breaded cakes. Pat the fish mixture down in the bowl, smooth the top, divide it in half, then separate each half into 3 parts to make sixths. Scoop up half of one of the sixths, form it into a ball with your hands, flatten it into a patty, and dredge it in the flour. Turn the patty to coat, shake off the excess, and then place it in the eggs. Turn it to coat completely, let excess egg drip off, and then dredge it in the crumbs. Coat it completely with crumbs, set it on the baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining mixture until you have 12 fishcakes. Refrigerate them for 20 minutes to 6 hours before cooking.
In cooking the fish cakes:
Prepare a baking sheet lined with paper towels.
Preheat the oven to warm (175 o F)for holding one batch of fishcakes as the rest are being fried.
Heat a skillet to medium-high heat. Add 1/4 inch of oil to the skillet and then as many fish cakes as will fit in a single layer. DO NOT crowd the pan, as this will prevent even browning of the cakes. Fry, the fish cakes, adjusting the heat as needed, until one side of the cakes is golden brown, about 4 minutes. Turn and brown the other side. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fish cakes to the the paper towel lined baking sheet to drain the fish cakes. Place the fish cakes in the oven to keep the batch warm. Repeat the frying process with the remaining fish cakes.
To serve, squeeze lime juice over the fish cakes and serve with a side salad and your favorite condiments.
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