I use dried cod(Beardsley brand) and real  mashed poato, learned to do it like that over 40 years ago.

 

barbados makes the best fishcakes! Use real codfish, not pollack The one I get comes in a wooden box from canada, via Boston, boneless...Soak and simmer 3x but DO NOT BOIL...save he water in case too much salt is washed out 

Put few heaping tablespoons  CORNMEAL in a bowl..add hotwater just to cover 

add fresh WEST INDIAN (not french or lemen) thyme

add chopped scallion, grated onion  !1/4, finely chopped garlic, 

t bp

 about a cup of cod

 few tablespoons of flour, generous black pepper and some carefully chopped (no fingers) slivers of scotch bonnet  (heat varies a lot , no seeds) 

this should be the consistency of brownies before they are baked

set for 20 min  up to overnight (refrigerated)

drop by teaspoon sized balls in hot oil

serve with lime segments and papaya hotsauce  the one from trinidad or costa rica 

They will absorb too much oil if there is too much baking powder in the mix

will love to hear any feedback! ! post to IDACLAIRE please..thanks and good luck

ps there are no potatos in this.... the new england version has potatos 

 

I can't seem to get rid of this weird formatting, but don;t feel like rewriting. 

I wrote this up for a friend, so i pass it on as it is, maybe a bit too detailed for this context.  I'm not sure of the pound of fish, i have to figure it out, i did it by eye. 

But the thing that makes them especially good is the home made tartar sauce. 

We have very good lemony mayonnaise here (Calve' brand) - otherwise i would make it from scratch. 

I chop up a little onion, lots of capers and a couple of dill pickles and mix together with good mayonnaise.  Add little extra lemon.  Put that out and you can fry chopped shoe leather and they'll eat it!

Ingredients

Fresh codfish  (fillets are easier) about 1 pound

2 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

1 shallot

1 egg

a handful of grated parmigiano

some fresh parsley, chives, a possibly a couple of leaves of thyme, chopped –

a couple of heaping tbsp breadcrumbs, 2 – 3 tbsp, depending on how soft the mixture is

for breading:

another egg

a little pile of flour,

a little pile of breadcrumbs

oil for frying – about a finger deep – in a heavy frying pan

Cut the potato and put on to boil with a little salt, and while it's cooking put the cod in another pot or frying pan with a bay leaf, piece of onion, bit if thyme, and water to cover and poach till it till the flesh is opaque and  flakes apart easily. 

Drain the potatoes when they're tender and drain the fish when it's ready. Let the fish cool till you can handle it without burning yourself.

Mash the potatoes. 

Flake the fish with your hands and add to the potatoes

Grate the onion and shallot on the larger holes of a grater and add

chop the herbs and add

Add the parmigiano and the egg and mix well.

It should be solid enough to form into a hamburger-like shape, without being sloppy.  Add breadcrumbs as needed if it's too runny.  You might also add a spoon or two of flour if it won’t get solid with the crumbs.  I usually don;t have time but you can refrigerate them and it's easier to make the patties. 

Beat the second egg in a soup bowl, as for an omelette.

Form into cakes, about 3 to 4 inches across and about ½ to ¼ inch  thick.  Dip into the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs. 

Heat the oil until a small piece of the mixture sizzles and forms bubbles around it when dropped in.  Fry the cakes over medium heat until nicely browned and turn over and fry the other side. 

Drain on paper towels or on a rack over a dish. 

 

I am glad I see someone else shallow(pan) fry instead of deep frying. I learned this is the way, maybe cause when I learned we did not have fryolators. My ingredients differ from yours, but the procedure is the same. Only thing I have changed over the years is now I use Panko Crumbs.

 

I'm with you, Ed. Pan frying makes a much tastier fish cake, IMO.

The other night I subbed salmon for the cod, BTW, and it's a real taste treat.

 

You can even make a salmon loaf and bake it , I have served this with a poached egg and Hollandaise, &  dill on top.. Like a Benny but no english muffin. I use cooked salmon and mix in some smoked  salmon to the mix.

 

Chefed and KY, Pan frying for me is just  more home-cook-friendly.  I don;t have a fryer and anyway, just can't imagine using all that oil, then having to throw it out.  Goes against the grain. 

 

There's that, Siduri.

But there's also a totally different final product. With pan frying, you basically brown the surface, providing great color and just a little bit of crustiness. Deep frying makes a product with a deep crust with lots of crunch and a fried flavor pan frying lacks. So it really depends on your goal.

With something as delicate as fish cakes I prefer the lighter finish of pan frying. On the other hand, my seafood lollipops almost require the heavier crust of deep frying; especially as they are batter dipped.

 

Nice to know that what comes easier is also better in this case!

 

Doncha love it when a plan comes together! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

 

just as a FYI  In jamaica they eat codfish fritters, called flitters... they are flatter, doughier and greasier

the bajun ones rock! 

one way they prepare codfish in JA that is great is to soak or bring nearly to boil 3x, break off in pieces and lightly fry with a pierced scptch bonnet pepper in the pan...in a seperate pot you place sliced onion, vinegar  with 1/3 water to cover and 5 whole allspice    serve the fired codfish pieces with the escoviched 'onion '

 

Every once in a while I'll make Sushi when I have a fresh fish delivery, and there are always scraps leftover when I'm finished. Most of the time it is salmon, halibut, and yellowtail or Ahi. I will put all the scraps in the food processor with some shallots, seasonings, eggs and bread crumbs or matzo meal and let it go. I saute these in some butter and olive oil mix and serve with caramelized onion or leek on top with a remoulade.

 

Franny, we have another great speciality in our country made with Northsea prawns, crangon crangon in latin. You should try these croquettes, but I'm not sure it will work fine with other prawns. The taste of these small Northsea prawns is incomparable to others. They are caught and cooked on board of the ship in seawater. In the older days, many tourists ate these in summer on café terrasses along our coast. The shrimp had to be peeled one by one. Most people had a nice beer with it, preferably a Rodenbach beer. This is how fresh (but cooked) Northsea shrimp looks like;



Shrimp croquette recipe;



You need;

Peel Northseashrimp (keep the heads & peels!!) until you have 500 g of peeled ones.

500 ml milk (to be infused with the heads and peels of the shrimp) - celery - 4 gelatine sheets soaked in cold water - cayennepepper - lemonjuice - salt

Roux; 55 g flour - 50 g butter

Finishing; 250 g panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) - 5 eggwhites, slightly beaten loosely with 1 tbsp of oil and seasoned with s&p

Make a shrimp milk infusion;

Let the shrimp heads and peels infuse in the gently simmering milk for 20-30 minutes, together with a shopped celery stalk. Sieve and let cool down.

Make the base; make a roux with the flour and butter, add the infused milk a bit at a time, keep stirring. Let cook for a while. Put away from the fire and add the squeezed gelatine.

Let cool some 10 minutes, then add the shrimp. Taste, add pinch of cayenne, salt and lemonjuice. Pour on a tray but make sure it fits the amount of preparation, it has to be poured in the tray to obtain a nice and even surface and around 1/2 inch thick. Put in your fridge for at least a few hours to set.

Finishing; cut the preparation in identical shapes you like; squares or rectangles. You can even roll balls or cylinders (the original croquette shape).

Bread "paner à l'anglaise" which is otherwise known as rolling the croquettes in flour, then in eggwhite (be sure they are completely covered), then in breadcrumbs such as panko. Tap gently.

Deepfry around 5 minutes in oil at 175°C. They have to be golden brown and "croquant", hence the name croquette. Serve with deepfried parcely and lemon wedges.  

Enjoy, this is a very well known treat in Belgium.

This is the best picture I found of the Northsea shrimp (cooked and ready to peel and eat). We call them "grijze garnalen" or gray shrimp in english.

 

I make mine almost the same way I make Cod Brandade . Instead of salt cod I use whatever white fish I have. Cook it in milk until done , drain and cool to room temp put fish, mashed potatoes , chopped garlic , chopped parsley, chopped scallion and fish in a food processor .Mix until smooth but not pasty.

Using a ring mold make cakes dredge in a mixture of panko and bread crumbs. Chill until service and then pan saute in oo and butter. YUM!!

 

Simple fish cakes

more British recipes.

Simple fish cakes

Once the preserve of dodgy chippies, fish cakes are now smart dinner party fodder

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Difficulty and servings

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Ready in 30 mins

1. Put the onion in a large frying pan, sit the fish on top and pour the wine or stock over. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook the fish for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through. Remove and cool. Strain out the onion (keep the wine or stock if you are making the sauce, right) and mix into the mashed potato with the herbs.
2. Flake in the fish in decent-sized chunks and season. Gently mix everything and, using floured hands, shape into 8 cakes. Lightly dust with flour, dip in egg and then in breadcrumbs. Chill for at least 30 minutes (important or they will come apart in the pan).
3. Heat 1cm oil in a large frying pan. Fry the fish cakes in batches for 3-4 minutes each side or until they are golden, crisp and heated through. Drain on kitchen paper.

 

Franny, I wouldn't worry about it. I've made shrimp croquettes using all sorts of them. They're all good. And, frankly, I think it takes a very discerning palette to differentiate one from the other in that sort of dish.

But do try them. They are a wonderful tasting treat, ideal alone, or as part of a tapas spread.

 

Hi Franny, if you can find very fresh unpeeled ones, go for these. Don't buy prepacked peeled ones, these are shipped to Marocco, then shipped back with a lot of preserving agents in it. Above all, they have lost all taste!