ELIZE’S PILCHARD FISH CAKES
As one of my family members prefer their fish cakes fried in oil and the other prefer them baked in an oven, I did a test to see which one tasted best.
The fish cake baked in the oven held its shape better, was not as oily and appearance was more likeable. Not to mention this method is healthier… No oil splatter.
- Fish cakes:
- 1 can pilchards in tomato sauce
- 2 eggs
- 2 slices of bread, crumbled in food processor
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- ½ green pepper, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped garden herbs such as basil, chives, dill, marjoram, parsley
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tablespoon chutney
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ground black pepper
- salt (Because canned fish tends to be salty, extra salt is usually not necessary)
- Tangy sauce (combine everything together):
- 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon of sweet chilli sauce
Empty contents of the can into a medium-sized mixing bowl.
Use only the fish not the liquid. Remove the bones and lightly flake with a fork.
Break the eggs in a separate bowl, whisk and add to fish.
Add the onions, green pepper, herbs, Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, sweet chilli sauce, chutney and lemon juice.
Crumb the bread. The easiest way is to use a food processor, or you can grate frozen bread.
Add bread crumbs to the mixture. Spray muffin pans well with Spray and Cook. You should be able to spoon it into the muffin pan easily, fill tot the top and press mixture gently.
Bake at 160 ºC for 40 minutes or until done.
Serve with tomato, tartare or a tangy sauce, freshly ground black pepper and lemon wedges.
Note:
Fresh crumbs. I used brown bread, put only one slice at a time in the food processor and remove crumbs before adding another slice to the processor. This is fresh bread crumbs, I store it in an airtight container in the deep freeze.
Recipe and photo: Elize de Kock
