Fishcakes with Capers and Horseradish-Parsley Sauce
Prep Time:
Cook Time:
Servings:
Ingredients
  • 6 to 7 oz. flaky white-fleshed, boneless and skinless fish such as hake or cod
  • 8 to 9 oz. potatoes
  • 2 cup whole milk, enough to submerge the fish in the saucepan
  • 1 sprig thyme, optional
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoon flour, plus more for breading the fishcakes
  • 2 tablespoon capers, rinsed, patted dry and chopped medium-fine
  • finely grated fresh horseradish (replace with additional capers if no fresh horseradish is available)
  • 1 egg, thoroughly beaten
  • breadcrumbs, preferably fresh, though the unseasoned ready-made kind will be fine
  • a handful of parsley chopped medium-fine
  • salt and pepper
  • neutral oil for frying
Directions
  1. Pat the fish dry and generously salt it; leave in the fridge, covered with paper toweling, for 20 to 30 minutes, then briefly rinse and place into a saucepan. Cover with about 2 cups of lightly salted whole milk, add a sprig of thyme (optional) and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 seconds (one minute for thicker pieces), remove the pan from the heat and cover. Leave for 5 to 8 minutes; the fish will finish cooking in the gradually cooling milk. Remove the fish to a bowl to cool. Save the milk: it will soon become sauce.
  2. Meanwhile, peel and halve the potatoes, add to a pan with cold salted water to cover. Bring to the boil, lower the heat to a vigorous simmer, cover the pan and cook until tender, 15 to 25 minutes depending on the potatoes and the size of the pieces. Drain and place in the bowl with the fish to cool until they can be handled.
  3. Use your hands to squeeze and smash the fish and potatoes. The potatoes should be partly pureed and partly crushed into small fragments; the fish flaked small – and use this opportunity to feel around for any bones that may have strayed into the bowl. Add the capers. Season with salt and (modestly) with pepper. Do not form the cakes yet: you need to make the sauce first.
  4. So, make the sauce: In a clean saucepan over medium-low heat, melt the butter and whisk in 2
  5. Add two tablespoons of this sauce to the fish-potato mixture and stir well to combine. Using a fourth of the mixture, form a disc about one inch thick. If it does not hold together, return it to the bowl and mix in two tablespoons of breadcrumbs; leave for a couple of minutes, then try again. The fishcakes should be fragile, but they need to hold up to the minimal stress of breading and frying.
  6. Now that the mixture has the right consistency, form it into four one-inch-thick discs, compressing them with your hands; refrigerate them on a plate for at least half an hour before breading.
  7. Meanwhile, zip up the sauce with the grated horseradish (I use a
  8. Bread the fishcakes: sprinkle with flour, gently turn in the beaten egg, then in the breadcrumbs. Strew a handful of crumbs onto a plate, set the breaded fishcakes on this bed of crumbs, then sprinkle them with additional crumbs. Refrigerate until it’s nearly dinner time.
  9. Heat 1/4 inch of oil in a 10- or 11-inch frying pan over medium heat. Test the temperature by adding a fragment of breading; if it sizzles gently, proceed; if it browns instantly, let the oil cool down before adding the fishcakes. They need to brown fairly slowly so that the cold interior will warm through.
  10. Carefully add the fishcakes to the oil and fry until golden brown on one side. Gently flip and cook until the second side is done. You can flip once more if you’d like Side A to be browner.
  11. While the fishcakes are frying, reheat the sauce and add the chopped parsley; check for seasoning.
  12. Drain the fishcakes on paper towels and serve with the sauce.
  13. You may wish to finish these fishcakes or the sauce with a spritz of lemon juice. There’s no good reason you shouldn’t, but the capers and horseradish should do the job on their own.