Jamie Magazine
By Yotam Ottolenghi
1 hr 30 mins
Not Too Tricky
serves 4
About the recipe
These flavour-packed fishcakes are lovely as they are, but even better served with a poached egg and a green salad. The red quinoa looks great, but if you only have white quinoa to hand, that will be fine, too.
Recipe From
Ingredients
1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
2½ teaspoons caraway seeds
1 large baking potato (about 500g)
100g red quinoa
6 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion
1 tablespoon Urfa chilli flakes (or ⅔ teaspoon regular chilli flakes)
3 x 200g smoked mackerel fillets, skin off, pin-boned from sustainable sources
1 bunch of fresh parsley
½ a bunch of fresh tarragon
1 large free-range egg
2½ lemons
optional: 120g soured cream
Method
- Lightly toast the cumin and caraway seeds, crush and set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/gas 7. Place the potato on a small baking tray and bake for 45 to 60 minutes, or until soft in the middle.
- Slice in half, scoop the flesh into a bowl (you should have roughly 350g); the skin can be discarded (or eaten!). Roughly mash the flesh and set aside to cool. Turn the oven down to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5.
- Bring a small pan filled with plenty of water to the boil over a high heat. Add the quinoa and cook for 14 to 15 minutes, or until it’s cooked but still retains a bite. Drain and stir through the potato.
- Add 3 tablespoons of oil to a medium frying pan and place over a medium–high heat.
- Peel and finely chop the onion. Once the pan is hot, add the onion and a pinch of sea salt and fry for 8 minutes, or until soft and caramelised, stirring frequently.
- Stir in the cumin, caraway and chilli flakes for 1 minute, then add the onion and spices to the potato and quinoa.
- Flake the mackerel into 1 to 2cm pieces, pick and roughly chop the herbs and beat the egg; add it all to the mixture along with ¾ of a teaspoon of salt, the zest of 1½ lemons and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
- Mix to combine. Shape the mixture into 12 patties 6 to 7cm wide and 2 to 3cm thick, then set aside.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to a large frying pan and place over a medium–high heat. Once hot, add half the patties and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden-brown on both sides, carefully turning halfway through.
- Remove from the pan and place on a lined baking tray. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and continue with the remaining patties in the same way. Finish them off in the oven for about 8 minutes, or until cooked through.
- Cut the remaining lemon into wedges and serve with the hot patties along with soured cream for dipping, if you like.
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