[Mirabelle]

Not everyone likes fish - but they love a good fish cake! Put some tomato ketchup on the plate and tuck in, and after making this Fishcakes recipe, you'll be back for more!

Fishcakes are one of my favourite comfort foods. These can be made with any good quality fish, some chopped parsley and an equal weight of nice buttery mashed potato. We usually make ours with un-dyed smoked haddock, obtained from our market, but sometimes bass or cod if it's available or even mackerel which always is cheap and plentiful. This recipe will make 12 fishcakes and they freeze well and can be cooked from frozen. Also included is my recipe for lovely mashed potatoes to use for either these fishcakes or any other recipe.

For the fishcakes:
100 g undyed smoked haddock fillets or sea bass if in season
600 g mashed potato (see below)
1 tbsp chopped parsley and half of snipped chives
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
A chunk of lemon for squeezing over

Put the fish in a pan, cover with boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain the fish, and when it's cool enough to handle, skin it and flake into a large bowl. Add the mashed potato and parsley and/or snipped chives, then mix it all together with your hands. Check the seasoning by adding salt and pepper to taste, adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Shape the mixture into 12 cakes, then chill to firm up for at least an hour.

Beat two eggs in a bowl and put breadcrumbs in a separate dish. Pass the fishcakes first through the egg and then through the breadcrumbs. (I save sourdough breadcrumbs and toast them lightly for extra crunch).

To cook immediately, pour half an inch of oil into a large frying pan and place over a moderate heat. When the oil is hot, carefully lay the fishcakes in the pan and cook for four to five minutes, until golden brown underneath, then carefully turn them over and fry for four minutes on the other side. Drain on kitchen paper, and serve with a nice crispy salad dotted with halved cherry tomatoes.


For the mashed potatoes (recipe serves 6):

Serves 6

900g King Edwards, or Maris Piper
250g diced unsalted butter
120 to 250ml whole milk, brought to boil and kept hot
sea salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste

Starting with cold water, boil unpeeled potatoes until a fork meets barely any resistance (this may take 30 minutes or more). Peel the potatoes while still hot. Mash the potatoes in the pot and stir over a very low heat until steam no longer escapes (about 5 minutes). We don't want gloppy mash.

Now add the butter, vigorously stirring the potatoes until incorporated. Add 120 ml of milk in a slow stream while vigorously whipping the potatoes with a wire whisk, incorporating air into the mixture. Add salt and more milk as necessary.The mash should be nice and fluffy by now and deeply buttery and well seasoned. Yum!