Guest Author - Cynthia Kilmartin
It used to be that Catholics didn't eat fish on any Friday of the year, and some still don't. When I was growing up we followed this tradition but I think that was partly as where I lived there were a lot of very good take-away fish shops, so I am not sure whether the 'fish on Friday' tradition was a religious decision or just a tired working Mum taking advantage of take away on a Friday night. I guess it is the same as families having 'pizza night' on Fridays now.
The tradition of fish on Fridays has declined as a religious tradition but many Christians do still hold to the tradition on Good Friday. Fish cakes are a great way to get kids to eat fish, these fish cakes use salmon. My kids call salmon 'pink fish' and will eat it almost any way. You can use fresh cooked salmon or tinned salmon. Salmon is low in calories and high in protein. Salmon contains good amounts of omega3s or 'good fats' and there is some interesting new research showing it also is a good source of proteins called bioactive peptides, which are good for insulin control, and control digestive tract inflammation, and are very good for the formation of the tissue between bones.
Fish cakes are also a great way to use up left over mashed potato and vegetables. So at a time like Easter when you often have friends or extended family around they can be a handy, quick and delicious way of saving money!
Salmon Fish Cakes
Use approximately 3 medium potatoes to half a lb of salmon to make 6-8 fish cakes.
Peel and roughly chop the potatoes into large cubes. Boil or steam the potatoes until they easily fall off a fork when you pick a piece up. Mash with a tablespoon of olive oil and two tablespoons of milk. Try not to use instant mashed potatoes, not only is it full of salt, but it doesn't have the right texture or consistency to hold the fish cakes together.
Flake your salmon and add to the mashed potatoes in a roughly 50% potato to salmon ratio. To make these even healthier I add some grated zucchini, some finely chopped spinach (frozen or fresh spinach) and usually any other vegetables I have left over, for example grate some left over broccoli chopped up small, cooked sweet potato or carrot. Add some dill and parsley and the juice of half a lemon.
Mix it all together don't worry if there are lumps. Form into patties. Crumb them with either bread crumbs or cornflake crumbs (a good option for a wheat free alternative).
When crumbing things I use the 'one hand wet, one hand dry' method. Make an egg wash by lightly whipping an egg with a fork. Use one hand to dip the patties in the egg mix and the other hand to cover them with the crumbs, this prevents the 'baseball mitt' of breadcrumbs forming on your hands.
Shallow fry the patties until they are warmed through, and serve with green vegetables or salad.
