Try these fish cakes with some steamed vegetables or salad for your next family dinner.
Summary
Prep: 20 mins
Cooking: 15 mins
Ages: Toddlers to Teens
Difficulty: Intermediate
Makes: 6 medium fish cakes
When I think of fish cakes I often think of firm, stodgy patties in restaurants, with a heavy white sauce full of capers. These fish cakes couldn’t be further from this less than appealing image.
We’ve used two types of fish, salmon and a white fish (here we chose cod) in order to give the right balance of flavour. We’ve then used 3 different herbs, the dill, the chives and the coriander to give it a fresh and aromatic taste. The effect is so intoxicating and starts from the moment you chop those herbs to when you enjoy your first bite of these fishcakes.
We have then used potatoes and sweet potatoes to give the fish cakes some firmness, egg and mayonnaise to tie it all together and lemon to add that zing! We think it’s the perfect balance of ingredients to make the best salmon fish cakes recipe ever!
Enjoy and let us know if you try these at home.
Ingredients
For the salmon fish cakes:
- 1 fillet salmon (about 125g)
- 1 fillet cod (about 125g)
- 1 medium potato (125g)
- 1 medium sweet potato (125g)
- 7 sprigs fresh dill
- 10 sprigs fresh chives
- 7 sprigs coriander
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice (1 lemon squeezed in)
- 1 handful spinach (roughly 40g)
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons gluten free flour (optional)
For the crispy coating:
- 50 grams gluten free oats
For the dip:
- 100g natural yoghurt
- squeeze of lemon
Instructions
Cook the ingredients:
- Peel and cut the potato and sweet potato into rough chunks.
- Place them in a pan of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
- In the meantime cook the fish. You can grill or steam the salmon and cod fillets for 10 minutes until cooked through. We did this by placing the fish in a steamer and putting the steamer on top of the pan of boiling potatoes as it was convenient, but cook the fish fillets any way you like.
- Add a handful of spinach either to the steamer with the fish or to the saucepan of boiling potatoes for 1-2 minutes at the end of the cooking time to soften it.
- While the potatoes, fish and spinach are cooking, you can prepare the other ingredients.
Prepare the crispy coating:
- For the crispy coating of the fish cakes, take the gluten free oats and whizz them in a blender until they are breadcrumb consistency. Place them in a bowl or on a plate next to the hob so they’re ready to use.
Create the fish cake mixture:
- Then chop the herbs: dill, coriander and chives. Chop the spring onions as small as you can. Place them all in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the beaten egg, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise to the mixing bowl.
- When your potatoes, fish and spinach are cooked, drain them from the water and add them to the bowl.
- Start breaking them apart with a fork and them mashing them with the other ingredients. Keep a close eye out for any bones in the fish as you do.
- We recommend using a fork over a blender as a blender can make the mixture very watery. The end result should have the consistency of a thick, gooey paste.
Form into fish cakes:
- The resulting mixture should be gooey, like a thick paste which will be difficult to pick up and mould with your hands, but which should hold together when picked up with a spoon.
- Take two spoons. With one spoon, take out a spoonful of the mixture and place it on the ground oats.
- Using both spoons, gently roll the ball of mixture around in the ground oats until all sides are covered. This can be a bit fiddly and don’t worry if it looks like a misshapen ball at this point. As long as it doesn’t break apart into pieces and stays as one ball that is fine. You will shape it into patties in the pan later on.
- If you’re having trouble forming the mixture into balls then you can add 1-2 tablespoons of gluten free flour or extra oat crumbs to the mixture to thicken it. We prefer the taste of the fish cakes without the flour but they work very well with flour too if you prefer to add it in to thicken the mixture.
Cook:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan, on a LOW heat.
- Carefully lower your ‘ball’ of fish cake mix covered with oat crumbs into the pan.
- Using the spoons, flatten the ball into round patties, pushing down on them and around the sides to make them into compact circles.
- Cook on a LOW heat until cooked through. We strongly recommend making sure the heat is low as otherwise the oat crumbs can burn easily and the fishcakes won’t have a chance to cook through.
- Leave the fishcakes for 5 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through.
- Remove and put aside on a plate. Add some more olive oil to the pan for the second batch.
- Make the dip. Simple mix the yoghurt together with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Salmon fish cakes recipe, our step-by-step guide:
Boil the potato and sweet potato
Peel and cut the potato and sweet potato into chunks. Place in a pan of boiling water and simmer for 20 minutes.
Cook the fish and spinach
Grill or steam the salmon and cod for 10 minutes. We placed the fish in a steamer on top of the boiling potato and sweet potato, but any way you cook them is fine.
1-2 minutes before everything is ready, add in the handful of spinach to the steamer of fish or the pan of boiling potatoes. This is to cook it just enough to soften it.
Blend the gluten free oats
While the fish, potatoes and spinach are cooking, prepare the crispy coating for the fishcakes.
Add the oats to a blender and whizz until they are breadcrumb consistency.
Empty onto a plate or shallow bowl and set aside by the hob, ready to use.
Chop the other ingredients
Then start preparing the other ingredients.
Chop the dill, coriander and chives.
Chop the spring onions as small as you can as well.
Place them in a large mixing bowl.
Mix the other ingredients together
Add the egg, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (1 lemon squeezed) and 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise.
Mix together.
Add in the fish, potatoes and spinach
When your potatoes, fish and spinach are cooked, drain them and add them to the bowl.
Start breaking them apart with a fork.
Keep a close eye out for any bones in the fish as you mash it with the fork.
Mash the ingredients together with a fork
Continue mashing all the ingredients together until you get a gooey paste in consistency.
Don’t worry if it’s not a firm mixture. You won’t be able to pick it up with your hands but it should hold together in a ball when scooped out with a spoon.
Coat the mixture in oat crumbs
Place the mixture next to the bowl of ground oats.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan on a LOW heat.
Carefully use a tablespoon to take out a ball of the fish cake mixture and place it in the ground oats. Use two spoons to gently roll the ball of paste around in the ground oats until covered, and carefully place it in the pan.
This bit is a little fiddly. Don’t worry if the mixture looks like a misshapen ball, you can form it into patties when it’s in the pan. As long as the mixture doesn’t break apart into pieces it’s fine.
If you find it’s just too gooey to handle, even with spoons, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of gluten free flour to the bowl and mix in to make the mixture thicker.
Cook the salmon fish cake patties
When in the pan you can use the spoons to push down on the top and sides of the fishcakes to make them into patties. Push down on them so that they’re compact.
Cook on a LOW heat until golden on the outside and cooked through. We cannot emphasise the importance of using a low heat enough as even a medium heat setting will mean the oat crumbs may burn and the fish cake won’t be able to cook through so double check it’s on a low setting.
Make the dip and serve
Flip the fishcakes and cook on the other side.
For the dip simply mix the yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon juice and serve!
Enjoy these delicious salmon fish cakes with a side of salad and a yoghurt dip.
Salmon fish cakes recipe
Ingredients
Salmon fish cakes
- 1 fillet salmon (about 125 grams)
- 1 fillet cod (about 125 grams)
- 1 potato, medium (about 125 grams)
- 1 sweet potato, medium (about 125 grams)
- 7 sprigs dill fresh
- 10 sprigs chives fresh
- 7 sprigs coriander fresh
- 4 spring onions finely chopped
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp lemon juice fresh
- 40 grams spinach (large handful)
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp gluten free flour (optional)
For the crispy coating
- 50 grams gluten free oats
For the dip
- 100 grams natural yoghurt
- 1 squeeze lemon
Instructions
Cook the ingredients
-
Peel and cut the potato and sweet potato into rough chunks.
-
Place them in a pan of boiling water and simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
-
In the meantime cook the fish. You can grill or steam the salmon and cod fillets for 10 minutes until cooked through. We did this by placing the fish in a steamer and putting the steamer on top of the pan of boiling potatoes as it was convenient, but cook the fish fillets any way you like.
-
Add a handful of spinach either to the steamer with the fish or to the saucepan of boiling potatoes for 1-2 minutes at the end of the cooking time to soften it.
-
While the potatoes, fish and spinach are cooking, you can prepare the other ingredients.
Prepare the crispy coating
-
For the crispy coating of the fish cakes, take the gluten free oats and whizz them in a blender until they are breadcrumb consistency. Place them in a bowl or on a plate next to the hob so they’re ready to use.
Create the fish cake mixture
-
Then chop the herbs: dill, coriander and chives. Chop the spring onions as small as you can. Place them all in a large mixing bowl.
-
Add the beaten egg, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and the 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise to the mixing bowl.
-
When your potatoes, fish and spinach are cooked, drain them from the water and add them to the bowl.
-
Start breaking them apart with a fork and them mashing them with the other ingredients. Keep a close eye out for any bones in the fish as you do.
-
We recommend using a fork over a blender as a blender can make the mixture very watery. The end result should have the consistency of a thick, gooey paste.
Form into fish cakes
-
The resulting mixture should be gooey, like a thick paste which will be difficult to pick up and mould with your hands, but which should hold together when picked up with a spoon.
-
Take two spoons. With one spoon, take out a spoonful of the mixture and place it on the ground oats.
-
Using both spoons, gently roll the ball of mixture around in the ground oats until all sides are covered. This can be a bit fiddly and don’t worry if it looks like a misshapen ball at this point. As long as it doesn’t break apart into pieces and stays as one ball that is fine. You will shape it into patties in the pan later on.
-
If you’re having trouble forming the mixture into balls then you can add 1-2 tablespoons of gluten free flour or extra oat crumbs to the mixture to thicken it. We prefer the taste of the fish cakes without the flour but they work very well with flour too if you prefer to add it in to thicken the mixture.
Cook the fish cakes
-
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan, on a low heat.
-
Carefully lower your ‘ball’ of fish cake mix covered with oat crumbs into the pan.
-
Using the spoons, flatten the ball into round patties, pushing down on them and around the sides to make them into compact circles.
-
Cook on a LOW heat until cooked through. We strongly recommend making sure the heat is low as otherwise the oat crumbs can burn easily and the fishcakes won’t have a chance to cook through.
-
Leave the fishcakes for 5 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through.
-
Remove and put aside on a plate. Add some more olive oil to the pan for the second batch.
-
Make the dip. Simple mix the yoghurt together with a squeeze of lemon juice.