These fish cakes are a great way to use up smoked basa fillets – a budget-friendly alternative to smoked haddock. The recipe uses lots of ingredients you probably already have in the fridge. Make six large ones for a hearty dinner or nine small ones for a light lunch.
Storing and reheating
How long can I keep the fish cakes?
Store in the fridge and consume within 2-3 days of cooking.
How should I reheat fish cakes?
Microwave: Spread out on a plate and heat for 1 minute 30 seconds on 800w.
Oven: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Place the fishcakes on a foil or parchment lined baking tray and cook for 15 minutes or 20 if cooking from frozen.
Frying pan: Lightly grease a large frying pan with olive oil and fry on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Can I reheat the lemon and parsley sauce?
To reheat the lemon and parsley sauce, return it to a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. The sauce will have thickened so whisk in a splash of milk to loosen it as it warms. Serve when piping hot.
Can I freeze smoked basa fish cakes?
You can freeze these fish cakes before or after cooking for 2-3 months. To store them, place a piece of parchment paper between each fish cake and put them in an airtight container in the freezer.
How should I store the smoked basa fish cakes?
Place a piece of parchment paper between each fish cake and store in the fridge in an airtight container.
Equipment needed
- Large non-stick frying pan
- Large saucepan
- Small saucepan
- Oven-proof dish
- Peeler
- Jug
- Grater or microplane
- Potato masher
- Colander
- Slotted spoon
- Chopping boards
- Chef’s knife
- Wooden spoon
- Tin foil
Ingredient substitutions
Fish: If you can’t find smoked basa, you can use smoked haddock fillets, scottish salmon fillets or cod fillets.
Horseradish cream: If you don’t have any horseradish cream this recipe works well with dijon or wholegrain mustard but you only need to use half as much (1.5 tbsp).
Spring onions: If you can’t find spring onions use half a white onion or two banana shallots instead.
Mixed watercress & spinach salad: You can substitute the watercress and spinach salad for any leafy greens you like. Rocket, kale, cavolo nero or swiss chard would all work well.
Capers: If you don’t have any capers you could use a couple of finely sliced cornichons or one finely diced gherkin instead.
Dairy-free: To make dairy-free smoked basa fish cakes, substitute the milk for a plant-based milk like oat or soy milk and use a plant-based spread in place of the butter.
Gluten-free: To make gluten-free smoked basa fish cakes, substitute the flour for cornflour. You might find you need less so add it a little bit at a time and see how you go.
Reasons to love smoked basa fish cakes
- Smoked basa is super budget-friendly costing just £2.50 for two fillets.
- These smoked basa fish cakes are a great way to use up leftover mash potato.
- They reheat really well so are a great prep-ahead lunch or dinner recipe.
What to serve smoked basa fish cakes with
These fish cakes go really well with leafy greens like spinach, watercress, cavolo nero, kale or swiss chard. You could also serve them with tenderstem broccoli, steamed carrots or garden peas.
Easy smoked basa fish cakes with lemon and parsley sauce
Course: Lunch, DinnerDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes40
minutes300
kcalIngredients
2 x smoked basa fillets
650g potatoes
160g mixed watercress & spinach salad
4 spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
15g of flat leaf parsley
1 tablespoon of capers
3 tablespoons horseradish cream
150g butter
250ml semi skimmed milk
200g flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
- Fill a large saucepan of water and bring it to the boil. Peel the potatoes and chop them in half before dropping them into the salted, boiling water.
- Finely chop the garlic and parsley, slice your spring onions into ½ cm rounds and zest the lemon.
- Place the smoked basa fillets into a flat oven proof dish, with the capers about 1.5cm of milk. Season the fillets with salt and pepper. Cover the dish with foil and allow the poach in the oven for 15 minutes or until just cooked through.
- Whilst the basa is cooking, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan on a medium heat and in the garlic and spring onion. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes, or until softened but not coloured before turning off the heat.
- Remove the basa from the oven and strain the fish and capers from the milk using a slotted spoon and place to one side, reserving the poaching liquid in a jug for later.
- When the potatoes are cooked through, drain the water and return to the saucepan before adding 50g of butter, 50 ml of milk and a good pinch of salt and ground black pepper. Mash until smooth but firm enough to stand up on a plate.
- Add your garlic, spring onion, horseradish, half of the parsley and 100g flour to the mashed potato and stir well with a wooden spoon until combined.
- Gently fold in the basa and capers being careful not to break apart the basa too much. You want some big chunks of fish to remain.
- Once cooled enough to handle, shape the mixture into 6 large or 8 smaller patties, adding a little bit more flour if the mixture feels too wet.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan you cooked your onions and garlic in and, placing it back on a medium heat, fry the patties until golden brown and crispy on both sides.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, place the remaining 100g butter on medium heat until melted before adding in the remaining 100g of flour and stirring continuously until it forms a roux.
- Bit by bit, gradually add the poaching milk you reserved from cooking the basa stirring all the time until the roux has turned into a milky sauce with no lumps. Bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer.
- Once thickened, add in the remaining 15 g of chopped parsley and all the lemon zest. Taste and season if needed.
- Serve the fishcakes on a bed of spinach and watercress salad, with the lemon and parsley butter sauce and a lemon wedge for squeezing.
Notes
- If you have leftover mash potato in the fridge, you can skip steps 2 and 7 and instead combine your leftover mash potato with garlic, spring onion, horseradish and parsley and flour in step 8.
- The cooler the mixture the easier they will be to shape and the less likely they are to fall apart in the pan. If you can, prepare the fishcake mixture in advance and cool in the fridge for a couple of hours, or even overnight. If the fish cakes are not holding their shape in the pan, coat the remaining patties on both sides with flour before frying.
- When you are adding the poaching milk to your roux it is really important that you keep stirring it all the time to avoid lumps forming. Once it has thickened and you’ve added the lemon and parsley, keep it on a very low heat stirring regularly to avoid a skin forming. If a skin does form, whisk in a splash of milk to loosen it.
- If your basa fillets are frozen you’ll need to add 5 minutes to the poaching time so place them in the oven for 20 minutes rather than 15.
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