The United States of America has been a great influence in my life, not only on my ancestral heritage, but on many of my attitudes, beliefs and ideals, I am a 'Disney' child after all, a member of that first generation to be raised on a diet of mass media, the target of global corporate marketing techniques, and consistently force fed a mantra of 'thou shalt consume'.
I have never really been one for regular shopping as the majority of the population seem to do, and unless I've been in dire need of something, I tend to avoid the 'shopping mall'.....and yes! I DID need that set of double sided plain and fluted pastry cutters I bought last week, but my obsession with cookie cutters is another story!.......
Instead of queuing for the latest 50 inch screen 4K television or mobile phone with the gadget thingy that can turn your oven on and compile your weekly shopping list by talking to your refrigerator, when it comes to shopping, I am the one making a beeline for the kitchen equipment and home-ware department, and if I do buy something, I will always make good use of it!
Black Friday is the latest American craze to make it across the pond, and as the 'settlers' in this country don't actually celebrate thanksgiving and probably don't have a clue what Thanksgiving is about, I don't understand the point of Black Friday becoming a fad here. I reckon it's just an excuse to kick off the Christmas sales without it actually being Christmas, but putting the why's and wherefores aside, Black Friday has become a wonderful source of amusement in our household. Within a couple of hours of the US shops opening, and we are now seeing the same scenes repeated in the UK, the 'stampede' videos are hitting YouTube and Facebook, and much hilarity follows.
Watching videos of humans literally trampling their fellow men to get that television or this years 'must have' children's toy was amusing....for about the first 15 minutes, after that, it started to make me uncomfortable. What was wrong with these people? What is it about owning the latest piece of technology that will make us trample, punch, kick and tear the hair from peoples scalps on our way to achieving our goal. Why is there a compulsion to own that oversized piece of plastic that does exactly the same thing as the oversized piece of plastic already taking up a wall in your living room?
I'm afraid I have no answer to that, there seems to be some sort of mass hysteria at work and personally I blame that oversized piece of plastic sitting on your living room wall. So go turn it off and go cook something, it's altogether more satisfying.
In Ireland today, even with its multicultural influences, eating fish on a Friday is still a national pastime, and what better way to beat those post shopping blues than with these zingy little fish cakes. We all know how good fish is for us, and by rights you should be trying to eat it 3 times a week, especially oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna. However, grilling, steaming, poaching or baking your fish fillet can get monotonous so it's nice to jazz things up a little.
Fish cakes are a vastly underrated dish, they are synonymous as a meal purely for children or maybe as a starter in a fancy restaurants with something like crab or lobster in them and not something that could be attempted at home! but the humble fish cake is so easy to make, kids can do it!
Fish cakes are also a great way to incorporate oily fish into the diets of said children, and adults who may not otherwise 'like' the stronger flavours at work in a simply grilled or baked fillet of fish.
You will need......feeds 4
2 fillets of smoked mackerel about 200 g
1 x 165g tin of tuna in oil/brine/water as you like
400g cooked mashed potato......no butter or salt added
2 teaspoons horseradish sauce or 1 small green or red chilli finely chopped, no seeds!
1 medium egg beaten
1 spring onion
2 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoon chopped dill
1 lemon
200 mls creme fraiche
sea salt, fresh black pepper
olive oil...not extra virgin
a large flat baking sheet
some parchment paper
How to.......
- remove all skin and any bones from the mackerel fillets...it is possible to buy fillets already trimmed, and although very tasty, they can be costly.
- drain the tuna very well in a sieve and then onto some kitchen paper
- wash and finely slice the spring onion
- finely chop the capers to give you 1 tablespoon
- place all the fish in a large bowl and flake it down well with a fork
- add the horseradish or chilli as you like, then the onions, capers and 1 tablespoon dill, mix well but don't be too rough, the fish cakes are much nicer with a little coarseness
- add the mashed potatoes, season with a little salt and black pepper, add the beaten egg and mix everything together well
- shape the fish mixture into even sized patty shapes....feel free to make one big one per person or a couple of smaller ones..... place the cakes on parchment paper on a tray and chill in the fridge for approx. 15 minutes
- while the cakes are chilling we can make the 'cream', if you have a small hand blender or processor this can be made quickly
- place the creme fraiche, the juice of half the lemon, the remaining dill and capers into the processor and blitz until the capers and dill are well chopped....the cream will turn a little green in the process which is quite normal
- taste for seasoning and add a little salt and pepper if needed....chill your cream
- turn the oven on and heat to 180oC.......take your fish cakes from the fridge
- add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a frying pan and heat
- gently cook the fish cakes in the hot oil until they begin to brown on each side
- transfer the cakes to an oven tray and finish their cooking in the oven....about 10 minutes.....this is just a good way to ensure they are heated all the way through
- serve the fish cakes with a peppery rocket salad, a drizzle of the dill cream, a wedge of lemon and a scattering of a few more capers
These fish cakes can be made up the day before and cooked the following day for convenience....you could even enjoy them for breakfast or brunch by adding a fried or poached egg on top!
I don't recommend freezing them as the possibility of a high content of water in the potatoes could make them mushy and horrible....maybe just don't go there...fresh is best when it comes to fish cakes.
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