Smoked Salmon Fishcakes with Hot Chilli and Tomato Sauce

The considerable health benefits of eating smoked salmon aside, it truly is a delicious way to eat salmon. The natural oils of the fish remain intact and thus the rich, salmon flavour can be enjoyed in full. This smoked salmon fishcake recipe is in the quantities required for two people.

Ingredients

2lb potatoes
6oz smoked salmon trimmings
4 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp freshly chopped basil
1 14oz can of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
1 small red chilli pepper (very finely chopped)
1/2 tsp caster sugar
16 Brussels sprouts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sunflower oil for frying

Method

The first step is to make the chilli and tomato sauce, as we wish it to accompany the fishcakes having cooled. The tomatoes, chilli, sugar and salt and pepper to taste should be added to a medium sized pot and brought up to a simmer. They should continue to be simmered for around twenty minutes until the tomatoes have really started to break down. The mixture should then be poured in to a sieve over a large bowl and pressed through the sieve with the aid of a wooden spoon. The sieved sauce should then be returned to the pot and brought back to a simmer. Around ten minutes of simmering should reduce it to a fairly thick and lush sauce. It should be covered and set aside to cool while the meal proper is prepared.

The potatoes should be peeled, chopped and added to a large pot of boiling, salted water. They should be cooked until soft (around twenty-five minutes) before being drained and mashed. The smoked salmon should be roughly chopped and added to the potatoes, along with the basil and some seasoning. It is important to be careful with the amount of salt added, however, as a lot of salt will come from the smoked salmon.

A large frying pan should be filled with sunflower oil to a depth of around one and a half inches and brought up to a fairly high heat. The Brussels sprouts should be peeled and added to boiling, salted water, to simmer for no more than eight to ten minutes, depending upon their size.

The breadcrumbs should be placed in one small, flat bowl such as a soup plate and the eggs beaten in another bowl. The fishcake ingredients should be thoroughly mixed together before being divided in to eight equal portions and carefully shaped. Each fishcake should be dipped in the eggwash before being carefully rolled in the breadcrumbs. They should be fried in the oil for about three minutes each side. Note that depending upon the size of your frying pan, it may be necessary to fry the fishcakes in two batches, keeping the first batch warm in a low oven while the second batch cooks.

The chilli sauce should be split between two small serving bowls and placed in the centre of each plate. The fishcakes should be drained on kitchen paper before being arranged around the sauce. The Brussels sprouts may then also be drained and served.