These fishcakes need a little bit of prep and forward planning, as it works best with ingredients that are cold! Trust me.

I start making these the day ahead, just by boiling some potatoes the day before and letting them go cold and by also making a little white sauce and again letting it go cold.

They are super tasty and are great for a dinner party or tasty supper.

 

Recipe (makes 4 fishcakes)

2 large Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 – 2 fillets of cod, about 250g

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour, plus 2 tbsps extra for later

300ml – 350ml milk, plus extra for poaching the fish

1 tsp dijon mustard

1/2 tsp wholegrain mustard

50g grated cheddar

2 tbsp chopped chives

2 eggs

100g dried breadcrumbs

3 tbsp oil

Salt and pepper

Start by boiling the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender, about 12-15 minutes. Drain and let steam dry, then go cold.

Next, make the melt-in-the-middle sauce by melting the butter in a small pan and then whisking in the flour. Next, a little at a time, pour in the milk and stir until combined into a white sauce. You may not need all the milk, you be the judge. Season with salt and pepper,  stir in the Dijon and wholegrain mustard, grated cheddar and the chopped chives. Let it go cold and pop in the fridge.

Cook the cod by putting it into a frying pan and covering it with milk. Poach it gently in the milk, for around 5 minutes, and then remove the fish and leave to one side. Keep 4 tbsp of milk for the potatoes.

Now you’re ready to combine.

Mash the cold potatoes until smooth, adding the 4 tbsp poaching milk, then season with salt and pepper. Gently flake up the fish and combine with the potato. Be careful not to crush it up too much, you want chunks of fish.

Next, pour out the potato and fish mix onto a floured board and shape into a cake. Cut into 8 equal pieces. Wet your hands and take a slice of the potato mix and put into the palm of your hand. Flatten it out and then create a small dent/space in the middle, keeping the sides high and leaving enough of a base for the sauce to not leak. Put a good heaped tsp or two into the dent, then put another slice of the potato mix over the top. GENTLY mould the potato round the sauce and then mould into a cake shape, ensuring all the sauce is in the middle. Keep making them up until you’ve used all the mix.

In 3 separate bowls, crack the eggs into one and whisk, put the flour in another and the breadcrumbs into the last. Coat the fishcake in flour, dusting any excess off, then coat in the egg and then finally into the breadcrumbs. Repeat until all are coated. Put back in the fridge for another 15 minutes or until needed.

Next, heat up a frying pan with the oil and fry the fishcakes on one side for about 5 – 10 minutes, until golden brown, then gently turn over and fry again until golden brown all over.

Transfer the fishcakes to a baking tray and put them into a preheated oven at 180c for 15-20 minutes to warm through completely.

Serve with a poached egg on the top and with some mushy peas. Enjoy!