Spiced Smoked Haddock Fish Cakes Food

SALMON & SMOKED HADDOCK FISH CAKES

Steps:

• Simmer the smoked haddock and salmon in the milk with the clove, half the onion and bay leaf for 5 mins. Remove the fish from the milk and, when cool enough to handle, discard any skin or bone then flake. (The milk can be used to make a parsley sauce.)
• Finely chop the remaining ½ onion and fry in half the butter until softened. Stir into the mash with the smoked haddock and Worcestershire sauce until smoothish, lightly mix in the salmon, boiled eggs and herbs, then season, preferably by hand so you don't overmix. Chill for 1 hr for the flavours to meld and the mixture to firm.
• Divide the mixture into 20 equal amounts, then shape into patties. Dip in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and reshape. Chill again before cooking. These can be made up to a day ahead at this stage then chilled.
• Fry in a non-stick frying pan with a little oil for 5-7 mins on each side until the coating is crispy, or grill topped with tiny knobs of butter. Serve with tomato sauce for dipping, if you like.

SMOKED HADDOCK & CHEDDAR FISHCAKES WITH WATERCRESS SAUCE

Steps:

• Put the potatoes, bay leaf, peppercorns and parsley stalks in a big pan of cold water. Cover with a lid, bring to the boil and cook for 15 mins until tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes to a colander and leave to steam-dry. Turn the heat down, add the fish and poach gently for 5 mins until it flakes easily. Tip the potatoes into a big bowl and put the fish in the colander to drain for a few mins.
• Add the cheese, some pepper and a little salt to the potatoes and mash well. Flake in about half the fish, discarding the skin and bones, and mash in too. Flake in the remaining fish in big chunks, scatter over the sliced spring onions and gently mix together. Roll the mixture into golf-ball-sized cakes.
• Tip the flour onto a plate and season. Tip the egg and breadcrumbs into 2 shallow bowls each. Roll each fishcake first in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Sit on some parchment-lined trays that fit in your fridge. Chill for at least 1 hr or up to 24 hrs.
• Fill a deep frying pan with 1-2cm of sunflower oil, heat until shimmering, then brown a few fishcakes at a time, turning regularly. If the oil gets too crumby, change halfway through. You can serve them straight away, or cool and chill for up to 24 hrs in the fridge, then simply warm for 30 mins in an oven at 180C/160C fan/ gas 4 before the party.
• Make the dipping sauce up to 1 hr before serving - put the roughly chopped spring onions, the parsley leaves, watercress, rapeseed oil, 2 tbsp lemon juice and 5 tbsp water in a food processor or blender. Whizz to the consistency of single cream.
• Pile the warm fishcakes onto a platter with a bowl of watercress sauce on the side and some lemon wedges for squeezing over, if you like.

DOUBLE-SMOKED FISH CAKES

Steps:

• Boil the potatoes for 15 minutes until just tender. At the same time, put the smoked haddock in a deep frying pan, cover with boiling water and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes. When the potatoes are done, drain them well and mash.
• Lift the fish from the water. When it's cool enough to touch, remove the skin and bones, then break the fish into medium-sized flakes.
• Put all the ingredients, except the flour and oil, in a large bowl. Season and mix well. The mixture should be quite light and may be a little sticky. Sprinkle the flour on a plate, divide the mixture into four and shape the fish cakes, coating them lightly with the flour. Put on a plate, cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or until needed. (You can make them to this stage up to 24 hours ahead, or freeze them for up to a month.)
• To cook, heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan, then put in the fish cakes, spacing them well apart. Fry for 5-6 minutes, then turn and cook the other side for about 4-5 minutes. (If you've frozen them, fry from frozen for up to 10 minutes longer.)