Recipes

Chosen from Recipes to Know by Heart by Xanthe Clay, she writes "Fishcakes may be the user-up-of-leftovers par excellence, but they deserve better. Cooked from scratch with fresh ingredients, they are enough of a treat for the smartest party, not just delicious but comforting too."

The Proportions
Leaving aside those chewy Oriental fish patties, a traditional fishcake is a mix of fish and mashed potato. The mash gives soft texture and cohesion, but the fish is the star. Aim for a quarter to half the fishcake as potato, but no more: too little fish looks mean.

The Mash
Decent mash is key to good fishcakes. First off, choose the right potatoes and don't rely on what's written on the bag: supermarkets have very strange ideas on what makes good mash. King Edwards are good and Estima and Desiree also work well. Make sure that you drain the potatoes well after boiling, giving them a couple of minutes in the sieve over the hot pan and with a tea-towel over them to dry out. Then mash them while still hot with a masher, ricer or (best of all) a mouli-legumes - but never, ever use the food processor which turns any potato into gloopy stodge. Enrich the mash with plenty of butter rather than milk or it will be too soft.

The Fish
Most fish makes good fishcakes, but avoid over-fished types such as cod, unless it's from a sustainable fishery or sustainably farmed. Poach the fish until it's just done, then skin, bone and flake into olive-sized pieces. Stir carefully into the mash, so as not to break it up too much.

The Egg
Adding an egg to the mix isn't strictly essential, but it does give the fishcakes lightness. The extra moisture can make the mixture tricky to handle, though.

Frying or Baking
Fry the fishcakes in a finger's depth of sunflower or mild vegetable oil, until golden brown and hot through. Keep the heat medium-high. Too hot and the fishcakes will burn before they are cooked. Drain them on a piece of paper and eat immediately. Fishcakes can be oven-baked but the breadcrumbs will need a little enrichment to help them brown to the right crispness. Either mix melted butter into the breadcrumbs - about 2 tbsp to 55g - before coating the fishcakes, or spritz the finished cakes generously with olive oil spray before putting them in the oven.

Serves 4

    675g cooked fish
    1 egg
    450g potatoes, peeled, boiled and mashed
    Salt and pepper
    Oil, for frying

For the coating
    About 4 tbsp flour, seasoned
    1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water and pinch of salt
    55g breadcrumbs

Method

Prepare the ingredients. Remove any skin and bone from the fish. Beat the egg into the mashed potatoes and season with salt and pepper too if you like.

Mix the fish and potato gently. Your hands are the best tool for mixing, since a spoon may break the fish up too much. The aim is to keep it in fairly large flakes.

Form into cakes. Put the mixture in the fridge to firm up if necessary before shaping it into patties with floured hands - I like mine a little smaller than a tennis ball and flattened.

Coat with flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Dip each fishcake in flour, then in beaten egg and then in bredcrumbs, making sure they are well coated.

Fry until golden. Heat a finger's depth of oil in a pan and fry the fishcakes gently until golden on each side.