A Recipe of Memories
My career began in a seafood restaurant and between my home and here these two places shaped me as a human and also shaped my love of food. A wonderful chef called Jack who was charming, calm, sauve and kind ( not the norm in most kitchens back in the day ) hand wrote me this recipe for a culinary exam I had to do in college. I aced the exam and this recipe became a firm favourite of my Moms and we would have it on Sundays or if there was ever a dinner party or two it would always feature as either a starter or a main course.
My parents moved house about a decade ago now, but my mom always had a drawer and shelf with cookbooks in the kitchen. I rarely do anybody else’s recipe but my own creations, but I took a notion a few weeks ago and decided I wanted to do the fishcakes on the Six O’Clock Show. I knew exactly where I had left that hand written recipe 15 years ago. There it was nestled away safely in between the old pages one one of my mom’s vintage cookbooks.
When I was prepping and testing for the show I was making batches of them and I dropped some over to my Mom and Dad and it was amazing she said it brought her right back to a night they had friends over and that week their friend passed away.
She has the memories now but never underestimate the power or a good recipe and a meal shared.
So from Jack to me, to my mom and back to me… now it is for you.
I hope you brings it as much deliciousness, chatter and joy as it has brought us over the years.
Ingredients
Salmon Fishcakes
Ingredients
- 600 g salmon
- 1 tsp oil
- 400 g mashed potato cooked
- 2 tsp freshly chopped dill
- 2 tsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tsp capers
- Sea and pepper
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 50 g flour
- 100 g panko / golden breadcrumbs
- Spray Oil
Creamy White Wine and Dill Sauce
- 1 shallot finely diced ( optional )
- 1 tbsp oil
- 250 mls fresh cream
- 50 mls white wine
- ½ fish stock pot
- 1 tsp corn flour
- ½ tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp fresh dill finely diced
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
Method
Salmon Fishcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180℃. Lay the salmon on an oven tray with parchment paper. Drizzle with 1 tsp oil and roast for 12 minutes. Flake up the fish into large chunks.
- Peel, boil and mash the potatoes. Finely dice the dill and parsley & capers.
- In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, herbs, dijon and seasoning.
- Stir together well, then gently fold in the large chunks of salmon. Mould and shape the mixture into four large fishcakes. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
- Set up 3 plates, flour on one, egg on the other and breadcrumbs on the other.
- Dip the fishcakes in flour first, then egg and then breadcrumbs. Pat the breadcrumbs on well.
- Line a tray with parchment paper lay on the fishcakes and spritz well with spray oil. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until golden brown, turning mid-way through cooking.
Creamy White Wine & Dill Sauce
- Finely dice the shallot. Sweat it off over low to medium heat until softened. Add in the wine and half the dill and allow it to bubble for a few minutes. Add in the cream and the stock pot and allow it to gently bubble over a medium to high heat and reduce. Combine the cornflour with 2 tbsp of cold water to make a paste and drizzle this into the sauce. This with 2 tbsp of cold water to make a paste and drizzle this into the sauce. This will thicken it up a little. Continue to stir after you add the corn flour. Taste and season. Finish with the remaining dill.
- To Serve : Spoon the creamy white wine and fill the sauce on the bottom of the plate. Sit the fishcake in the centre and garnish with a little fresh parsley and dill. Serve with a fresh green salad or steamed greens.
