Pollock Fishcakes with homemade Tartare Sauce and Pickled Samphire
This recipe was created by Yorkshire Michelin starred chef James Mackenzie of the Pipe & Glass Inn, as part of our Chefs' Collection.
James thinks that fishcakes can be old hat, but everyone loves them! For this recipe you can use any kind of fish you like; James likes to use a lot of fish, so you are really just using the potato to bind it.
Pollock works really well and it's not too expensive. It's great to make your own Tartare Sauce, as you can make it nice and chunky with our Yorkshire Mayonnaise.
Makes 4
INGREDIENTS
For the Pollock Fishcakes
500g Maris Piper potatoes
500g pollock
1 white onions
½ lemon
200ml white wine
Flat leaf parsley
Bunch of dill
Mild curry powder
Panko breadcrumbs, a handful for the fishcakes plus some for coating
Plain flour
2 eggs
Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil, for deep frying
For the Tartare Sauce
6 tbsp Yorkshire Mayonnaise
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
12 small cornichons
4 tbsp capers
Squeeze of lemon
Flat leaf parsley
For the Pickled Samphire
200g fresh samphire
1 tbsp pink peppercorns
2 shallots
200ml white wine vinegar
METHOD
Bake the potatoes in the oven and scrape out the flesh from the skin; this way you will end up with a nice dry fishcake. Skin and de-bone the Pollock fillets, lay them on an oiled baking sheet and bake in the oven at 180C / 160C Fan / 350F / Gas Mark 4, until just cooked. Place the fish and potato in a large mixing bowl.
Chop the onion really finely, put into a saucepan with the white wine and zest and juice of the lemon. Cook the onions for 1 hour over a low to medium heat: by this time all the liquid should have been soaked up by the onions, but if not increase the heat until the mixture is as dry as possible. Cool and add to the fish and potatoes. This mixture will give the fishcakes a great sharpness.
Add a handful of breadcrumbs to the mix, some chopped parsley, dill and a little curry powder - this is not to spice it up but just adds a different flavour: you just need a little or you’ll over power the fish. Mould the fishcakes and cool in the fridge. When cool pass them through the flour, egg and breadcrumb and keep in the fridge until needed.
To pickle the samphire
Bring 200ml of white wine vinegar to the boil with some pink peppercorns and sliced shallot, pour over the samphire and leave for at least 2 hours. This is best after a couple of days and will keep for ages; we tend to pickle it when the season is coming to an end so we can use it through the coming months.For the homemade Tartare Sauce
Roughly chop the cornichons and capers. Season with a little salt and a squeeze of lemon. Mix with the Yorkshire Mayonnaise, Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. Chop some flat leaf parsley and add to the sauce.Deep fry the fishcakes in Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil that has been heated to around 180C, until golden brown and finish in the oven to cook them through.
Serve with the Tartare Sauce and some of the pickled samphire mixed through some salad leaves.