Nouveau Gefilte?
I love fish cakes as a modern alternative to traditional gefilte fish. The origins of gefilte fish as a Shabbat food come from obviating the need to separate bones when eating (thus avoiding the prohibition of separating on Shabbat) since it’s a ground-up mixture. Practically, gefilte also stretched expensive fresh fish with tasty fillers to feed more people. Fish cakes also accomplish this, but in a fraction of the time and with better texture and mouthfeel (in my opinion!). The best part is that you can easily make a large batch and freeze raw on a sheet pan. Thaw and fry fresh at your leisure!
The raw patties can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated. To refresh and reheat cooked cakes, warm in a single layer on a baking sheet in 350°F oven until hot and re-crisped.
Cook’s Note: While I love the delicate flavor of white-fleshed fish cakes, this recipe will also work with salmon fillets (reduce the salt slightly).
Do Ahead: Patties can be formed a day ahead and refrigerated or frozen between sheets of parchment paper for up to two months. Lemon-Horseradish Sauce can be made up to three days ahead.
Ingredients
Fish Cakes
- 1½ pounds skinless cod or haddock fillets chunked
- 1 shallot peeled and quartered or 2 scallions (white and green parts)
- ⅓ cup packed fresh Italian parsley
- ⅓ cup packed fresh dill
- juice of ½ large lemon about 1 Tablespoon
- 1½ teaspoons sweet pickle relish
- 1¼ teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 egg or 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
- ⅓ –½ cup matzah meal or 1 cooked potato, riced
- ¾ cup vegetable oil or more as needed for frying
Lemon-Horseradish Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon grated lemon peel from ½ lemon
- juice of 1 lemon about 2 Tablespoons
- 2 –3 teaspoons prepared white horseradish
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or more to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Nutritional Facts
Instructions
Make fish mixture:
- Line a baking sheet with waxed paper or parchment; set aside. Place fish, shallot, herbs, lemon juice, relish, salt, pepper, and egg in a food processor fitted with an “S” blade. Pulse processor until finely chopped — do not puree to a paste; the mixture should be chunky and textured. (Do not overstuff food processor or it won’t process evenly — you may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your processor.)
- Form patties: Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add ⅓ cup bread crumbs, mixing until well blended. Add additional crumbs as needed for the mixture to hold together. Using moistened hands, form mixture into even rounds — about ⅓-inch-thick cakes. Arrange on prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate for 1 hour (or place in freezer for 15 minutes) to set. (This can be made one day ahead. Cover and chill.)
- Fry: Over medium heat, heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet. Working in batches, fry cakes until nicely browned on each side and opaque in center, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
Sauce:
- In a small bowl, whisk together all Lemon-Horseradish Sauce ingredients until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve patties warm or at room temperature with sauce over a bed of mixed greens, or as burgers with buns, lettuce, and tomato.
