These fish cakes are great as they are packed full of goodness, are easy to make, can be eaten by all the family and freeze brilliantly. Plus, you can get some spinach into your little ones without them even knowing!
Fish is a great source of lean protein providing important building blocks for growth and repair in the body. Salmon is also a source of omega 3 fatty acids which is important for many functions in the body from brain function and skin health to reducing inflammation. Spinach is a rich source of iron which is essential for boosting blood supply and providing energy in rapidly growing children. The parsley helps provide a dose of immune boosting vitamin C, which also helps with the absorption of the iron from the spinach.
(1 is enough for a small child, 2 is enough for an adult main)
- 400-450g salmon fillet (preferably sustainably sourced)
- 400-450g white fish such as cod or haddock
- 400g mashed potato (you can cheat and use ready made)
- Handful of parsley, chopped
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- Zest of 1 lemon and ½ the juice
- Sprinkle of boullion powder or veg stock powder
- 1-2 tbsp wholegrain mustard
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
- 130g fresh spinach (can also use frozen)
- Up to 150g gluten-free breadcrumbs (or normal, obviously, if preferred)
- Little oil or butter for frying and greasing
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Firstly, put your spinach into either a frying pan or saucepan and lightly cook until it's wilted. (This will only take seconds and you don't really need much oil or butter in the pan to get it to wilt as it holds so much water).
- Once wilted and softened take it out and drain slightly on kitchen paper to get rid of the excess water, then chop finely. If not using fresh spinach you can use bought frozen spinach which won't need cooking but will need to be squeezed of the excess water. Keep your spinach aside and cool.
- Place your fish skin side down onto the centre of a large sheet of tin foil. Sprinkle with some bouillon powder (stock powder) and then create a parcel by lifting up the sides of the tin foil and scrunching the sides over. While a little bit of the parcel is open, pour a bit of warm water in – not loads but just enough to coat the fish by about 1 cm. This will help to poach/steam the fish and keep it really moist. Seal up the tin foil parcel and pop into the oven to cook for 10-15 minutes approx.
- You will know when the fish is cooked when it has turned from jelly-like and translucent to opaque, and when touched the fish begins to flake slightly.
- Leave to cool.
- Lift the fish out of the juices and peel away the skin and discard. Make sure there are no bones.
- Gently flake the fish into pieces and then mix in with the mashed potato, chopped parsley, tomato puree, wholegrain mustard, seasoning, chopped spinach, lemon zest and juice.
- If at this stage the mix feels very loose, add in some of your breadcrumbs to firm it up a bit. (Remember you will need to add more seasoning if you add more bread as it numbs the flavour.)
- When happy with the seasoning and firmness, take a handful and shape into decent sized fish cakes. Then get a plate and sprinkle with your breadcrumbs and gently roll the fishcakes in them to get a nice coating all over.
- Chill to help them firm up a little. You can also freeze them at this point.
- Oil or butter a baking sheet lightly and place in the oven for a minute to heat through. Then add the fishcakes and cook for about 15 minutes. They should take on a bit of colour and be piping hot in the centre.
- If cooking from frozen they can take up to 30 minutes.
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