Smug, Green, Fishcakes
If you are looking for fishcakes with hidden vegetables that you can feed to an unsuspecting small person this is recipe is not for you. If however you want to feel totally smug about eating something that is so packed with nutrients it possibly couldn’t taste as good as it does, look no further!
The inspiration behind this recipe came partially from the seeded fishcakes you can buy from Aldi – I love the extra texture in the crumb and the fact that seeds are another good source of brain-friendly nutrients for me. So it gave me the idea of making my own homemade, clean-eating version of seeded fishcakes packing in as many brain friendly nutrients as possible.
I made these with salmon as it has more Omega 3 than tuna, but you could make the recipe with tuna if you prefer and tuna is a little cheaper. I also made this with fresh baby leaf spinach as that was what was in the fridge but I think these would probably taste even better made with vibrant, peppery watercress. The spinach or watercress is what gives the fishcakes their vibrant, in your face, i’m a folate loud and proud, green colour.
I used oats instead of bread for the coating as it is a complex carb and has long energy release qualities. The addition of seeds gives the fishcakes a lovely bejewelled texture and they are rich in Omega 3 to help boost serotonin production.
Finally I baked these in the oven rather shallow frying them on the hob. This is not only healthier but actually I personally find it easier to leave the fishcakes on a baking sheet and just cook them rather than having to contend with potentially spitting oil in a frying pan. Yes, it’s an anxiety thing, but this is a mental health and food blog after all!
Smug, Green, Fishcakes (Serves 4)
aka Salmon and Spinach (or Watercress) Fishcakes with an Oaty, Seedy, Crumb
Ingredients
1 tin pink or red salmon
450g potatoes, peeled with a potato peeler
3 handfuls baby leaf spinach or watercress
Juice and zest of half a lemon
half a red onion, chopped
60g rolled oats
60g mixed seeds (I use an Omega 3 Seed Mix of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, brown linseeds and golden linseeds)
1 egg
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste – I like plenty of pepper personally
2 teaspoons rapeseed oil (most vegetable oil sold in the UK is actually rapeseed oil – check the label – it’s much cheaper than buying oil branded as rapeseed oil)
Method
Chop the potatoes into 1cm cubes and pop them in a saucepan. Cover with boiling water and boil for 10 minutes or until tender. When cooked strain into a colander and then pop back into the pan with the hob switched off and swirl around a bit with a spoon to dry the potato off. Mash the potato. Leave to cool.
Put the spinach, chopped onion, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper into a medium-sized bowl. Blitz with an immersion blender until you have a fairly smooth paste but you don’t have to worry if there are some lumps.
Drain the can of salmon in a sieve over the sink, then use your fingers to flake the fish whilst removing any skin and bone at the same time. This actually takes much less time and effort than you would think.
Add the salmon and the potato to the spinach mixture and mix together well.
Divide the salmon and potato mixture into four and then shape each portion into a pattie with your hands.
Break the egg into a small bowl and beat it.
Mix the oats and seeds together and put on a large plate.
Dip each patty in the beaten egg and then roll in the seed mixture until they are covered.
Put the fishcakes flat on a clean plate and pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C / 375 degrees F / Gas Mark 5.
Grease a baking tray with the rapeseed oil, spread over the tray with a piece of kitchen towel.Throw away the kitchen towel.
Carefully move the fishcakes onto the baking sheet. Put the fishcakes in the pre-heated oven and cook for 10 minutes, then carefully flip the fishcakes over and cook for another 15 minutes or until they are golden brown, hot and cooked all the way through.
Eat, smugly, with a green or tomato salad or peas.
Image by Mike Kinneally via Unsplash