Really good Fish Cakes

1. Fish – Any firm white fish fillets suitable for pan frying will work here. Some suggestions:

Australia: Trevalla/Blue eye cod, Hapuka, Barramundi, Jewfish/Mulloway, Flathead, Ling, Ocean Perch, Salmon, Snapper (large 1.2kg/2.5lb+), Ocean trout (not river trout). US: Tilapia, Cod, Alaskan pollock, Catfish. UK: Cod, Pollack, Hake, Sea Bass, Haddock, Salmon.

Canned tuna and salmon will also work here. Keep them in nice big chunks. Also, there’s no need to cook them. Use one large 425g / 14oz can, preferably in oil, drained.

Avoid:

Fish that dries out easily – this includes king fish, tuna, sword fish, mahi mahi. Oily fish that also tends to have quite a “fish” flavour, such as sardines, mackerel, river trout. Fish that’s too small or delicate for this recipe. This includes:Bream,Whiting,John Dory,Orange roughy (deep sea perch),Flounder,Sole,Turbot,Halibut,Monkfish / Stargazer (well, it works, but it’s a premium fish so I wouldn’t waste it on fish cakes! This Monkfish recipe is more worthy!)

2. Potato – Any starchy or all-rounder potatoes will work great for this recipe. The recipe will work fine with waxy potatoes too, except they just don’t bake to be as fluffy inside so when mashed the potato filling is slightly denser / thicker. It’s still delicious, just a different texture!

3. Make ahead / storage –Best consumed freshly made. Leftovers can be resurrected by baking for 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F until hot all the way through, but fish does have a tendency to be less moist when reheated.

Make ahead – Crumb then freeze, using parchment/baking paper between layers to prevent them from sticking. Thaw overnight in the fridge then follow recipe to pan fry and bake.

4. Nutritionper fish cake, assuming 14 fish cakes (you’ll count 13 in the photos. One fell victim to… well, me.)