Curried Fish Cake Recipe

This delightful curried fish cake recipe is served with a perfectly poached egg and some simple buttered spinach for an intriguing twist on a classic. The mellow, heady korma spices from the Patak's Korma Spice Pot meld perfectly with the smoked haddock, and the addition of coriander brings plenty of freshness to the dish.

Ingredients

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Curried fish cakes

500g of smoked haddock, (undyed)
300ml of milk
1 onion, sliced
1 chilli, sliced
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
3 baking potatoes, (large – you will need 400g of potato)
1 Patak's korma spice pot
1/2 bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
salt
pepper
oil, for frying

To serve

500g of spinach leaves, washed and drained
4 eggs
smoked paprika, for presentation
1 red chilli, finely sliced for presentation

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Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

To begin, pierce the baking potatoes all over and place them in the oven for an hour to an hour and a half, until they feel soft to the touch – use a tea towel when testing this! Leave the potatoes to cool

Next, place a wide saucepan onto the hob and pour in the milk, sliced onion, chilli, bay leaf and peppercorns. Bring to a bare simmer and leave to gently bubble away for 10 minutes

Place the smoked haddock in the milk, you may need to slice the fillet up so it fits snugly in the pan. Gently poach for 8–10 minutes, until it begins to flake. Remove the fish from the poaching liquor and leave to cool

Cut the potatoes in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl (the skins can be saved for stuffing in other dishes, so don’t throw them away). Mash the potato up with a fork to loosen and fluff up, then add the flakes of haddock, peeling them away from the skin

Add the korma paste, chopped coriander, lemon zest and cayenne pepper and fold everything together, being careful not to mix too vigorously. You want to keep some of the flakes intact. If your mixture seems a little bit dry, you could add a tablespoon of the milk used to cook the fish to loosen, but do err on the side of caution

Check for seasoning, then portion out into 8 balls and flatten into fishcakes. Place on a plate, cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least an hour to firm up

When you are ready to cook, place a large frying pan on the hob over a medium heat, drizzle in a healthy glug of oil and then add the fishcakes. Fry them off for 10 minutes, flipping occasionally, until the outside becomes crisp and golden (you may have to do this in batches, so it is worthwhile preheating your oven so you can keep them warm)

To cook the spinach, simply place it into a large saucepan on the hob over a medium heat and stir to encourage the leaves to wilt. This should only take a couple of minutes. Squeeze out any excess water when done and add a drop of the leftover lemon juice to taste

To poach the eggs, place a wide saucepan on the hob filled with boiled water from the kettle. Bring to a gentle simmer and then stir to create whirlpool. Crack your eggs in swiftly. The motion of the water should help them spin and form. Set the timer for 2 minutes, then swiftly hoist them back out and place on a tray lined with kitchen paper to soak up and excess water

To serve, spoon a portion of the spinach on each plate and place two fish cakes on top. Add a poached egg to the side and lightly dust with some smoked paprika. Finish with a scattering of red chilli

First published in 2017

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Food Urchin

Danny is a food adventurer, home grower, supper club host and writer of the entertaining and quirky epicurean blog, Food Urchin.

Curried fish cakes with spinach and poached egg

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