To make these fishcakes, it’s worth seeking out the best smoked available as it will make all the difference to the finished dish
Through working with their favourite smokehouse, Searcys have developed their very own smoked salmon. This salmon is smoked in brick kilns in a time-honoured technique for ultimate flavour.
Serves 4
Ingredients
For the fishcake:
• 3 large King Edward potatoes, to yield 500g mash
• 500g smoked salmon, diced
• 15g chopped parsley
• 15g chopped dill
• 1 ½ lemons, zested (you will need the other ½ for the tartar sauce)
• Sea salt and black pepper
• 110g plain flour
• 2 large free-range eggs, beaten
• 110g panko crumbs
• Vegetable or sunflower oil, for deep-fat frying
For the tartar salad:
• 50ml Stokes mayonnaise
• 50g capers, drained and roughly chopped
• 50g gherkins, drained and roughly chopped
• 50g banana shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 50g red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 5cm cucumber, cut in half lengthways, deseeded and roughly chopped
• ½ lemon, zested
• 15g chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
To make the tartar salad:
1 Gently mix together all of the ingredients until well combined. Adjust seasoning to taste taking care not to over salt as the capers and gherkins can be quite salty.
2 Store in the fridge until needed.
To make the fish cakes:
1 Prick the potatoes and bake in a pre-heated oven at 175°C / 350°F / gas 4 for 1 hour and 50 minutes or until soft to the touch.
2 Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
3 Scoop out the flesh and pass through a potato ricer or gently mash or with a fork until smooth.
4 Add the smoked salmon, parsley, dill and lemon zest to the potatoes and stir until well combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
5 Divide the mixture into 8, each weighing 75g. Shape into balls, fingers or cakes. Cover and allow to chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Put the flour, egg and crumbs into three separate bowls. Coat the fish cakes with the flour, then egg and finally with the crumbs.
6 Heat a deep-fat fryer to 180°C/350°F. If you do not have a thermometer heat until a 1cm cube of bread browns in 30 – 40 seconds.
7 Deep fry the fishcakes in batches, for 4-5 minutes, or until golden-brown.
8 Place on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil.
9 Serve the fishcakes together with a lemon wedge and some of the tartar salad.
Recipe and image courtesy of Searcys in honour of their 170th birthday.
