Salt cod potato cakes
- Prepare
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Makes 8–10
“This recipe was shared with me by Kim Prado from Bristol's Houria Café,” says Rick Stein. Lime zest and red chillies are key to these flavour-packed fishcakes.
Ingredients
For the fishcakes
- 300g/10½oz salt cod, soaked for 24 hours (water changed every 8 hours)
- 600g/1lb 5oz floury potatoes, such as Maris Pipers, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1–2 red chillies, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 1 red onion, finely chopped
- large handful fresh coriander, chopped
- 1 lime, zest only
- 50g/1¾oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1 litre/1¾ pint vegetable oil, for deep-frying
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the aioli
- 4 garlic cloves
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 free-range egg yolk
- 125ml/4fl oz sunflower oil
- 50ml/2fl oz extra virgin olive oil
To serve
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Method
Bring a saucepan of water to simmering point, add the soaked fish and poach for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the aioli. Mash the garlic to a paste with the salt. Scrape the garlic paste into a bowl and add the egg yolk. Whisk everything together, then very gradually whisk in both oils, a few drops at a time at first, to make a thick mayonnaise-like mixture. Set aside for later.
Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, drain well and leave to air dry in a colander. Mash the potatoes (no need for butter or milk), then add the cooked, flaked salt cod, chilli, garlic, red onion, coriander, lime zest and flour. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Form the mixture into oval patties and dust them with flour. Heat the oil in a large saucepan to 160C, then add 3 or 4 fishcakes and deep fry for 3–4 minutes or until deep golden (CAUTION: hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended). Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm while you cook the rest.
Serve the fish cakes with wedges of lime and the aioli.
