West Coast Fish Cakes

Fish cakes: 2 C (500 ml) deboned and flaked poached hake 2 C (500 ml) deboned and flaked smoked snoek 2 C (500 ml) ready cooked mashed potato 2 T (30 ml) finely chopped fresh parsley 2 T (30 ml) finely chopped fresh dill 2 T (30 ml) lemon juice 1 T (15 ml) lemon zest Salt and Pepper to season

Crust: 2 Free Range eggs, beaten in a dish 1 C (250 ml) cake flour, seasoned with salt and pepper 1 C (250 ml) dried breadcrumbs in a dish ¾ C (125 ml) canola oil to shallow-fry the fish cakes (make sure your oil is piping hot)

Lemon wedges and crème fraiche to serve – season your crème fraiche with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper and salt Garnish with a handful of roughly chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Mix all the fish cake ingredients together in a bowl. Season generously with salt and pepper Shape the mixture into round patties. Place the beaten eggs, seasoned flour and breadcrumbs in individual bowls. Take a fish cake and dip it into the egg mixture. Dust the fish cake with the flour, then dip back into the egg mixture and finally coat with breadcrumbs. Place on a tray and then repeat with the rest of the fish cakes. Refrigerate the fish cakes for about 30 minutes to firm up. Pour the oil into a frying pan over medium to high heat. When the oil is hot enough, carefully place the fish cakes into the oil, in batches of two or three. Fry both sides until golden brown. Remove from the pan and place onto a baking tray. Just before you are ready to serve, put the fish cakes into the oven and bake at 180 °C for 5 minutes. Serve with wedges of lemon and a dollop of seasoned crème fraiche and the sprinkle over the freshly chopped parsley

CHEF’S TIP: Make sure that your oil is hot enough otherwise it will soak into the fish cake. I like to serve my fish cakes with slices of tomato and nice fresh baguette and butter! Such good comfort food!

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