We had a new neighbour move in next door to us early in 2012. He’s an elderly ex-whaler with a passion for trout fishing. Within the span of a week, during the summer, he’d brought to us no fewer than 24 trout! A few of them were eaten, fresh, but 19 of them ended up in the freezer. Fish only keep for 6 months in the freezer so it’s nigh time they got eaten up!
However, trout contain 8 hundred million gazillion tiny little bones! As a child I remember being put off eating fish because of fear of getting a fishbone stuck in my throat. That and the fact fish was never served up in a palatable manner (I’m cringing at the memories). It wasn’t until I moved to Shetland and had children of my own that I began to experiment with fish. It’s a work in progress – shellfish is still something I have a natural aversion to. Maybe one day… in the meantime, how can I say no to the fish my elderly neighbour brings to me when it brings him such happiness to catch them!
I made this fishcake recipe for my children and it went down a treat. I have to say I did spend at least a half an hour dutifully going over the trout flakes to make sure not one single bone remained. It’s a bit of a laborious task, but they ate them, willingly! The cornflake crunch coating idea was taught to me by the head chef at a children’s summer camp in Canada I used to work at in my teens (as assistant cook). It really does give a delightful crunch to the outside of a fluffy cake. These go particularly well with homemade parsley sauce and a salad, or even steamed spinach and good grinding of Shetland seaweed sprinkle over the top.
- 3 loch trout, cleaned and gutted
- 400 grams leftover mashed potatoes
- 1 tbsp parsley
- 1 clove garlic
- salt & freshly ground black pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- 30 grams plain flour
- 2 large handfuls cornflakes, crushed
- vegetable oil, for frying
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 12 small fishcakes
I am including this recipe in Turquoise Lemons’ No Waste Food Challenge, a round-up of recipes designed to use up leftovers. This month it’s all about using up leftover mashed potatoes and it’s being hosted by myself.
I have also submitted this recipe to the MumsNet Bloggers Frugal Food round-up for January 2013. It’s a blog hop, so do go and see what the other Mums have been cooking in their kitchen!
Daydream adventurer. Expat Canadian. Foodie. Calls Shetland home, for now. One eye is always on the horizon.
Brianna says
wow,yahmmyyy,trout.I like fishcake.awesome recipe!!!
Tim says
If you pre-cook the trout a bit, you can lift out all the bones. Sort of a trick. I don’t know how that would affect your recipe though.
Platter Talk says
What a beautiful story and recipe. Sounds deeelish!
Martina Evans says
Delicious! I love trout, it’s one of my favorite fishes to eat. I’m glad that you’ve made a new way/recipe for me to eat and enjoy it.
Herbert Appleby says
What a great earthy orange colour you have made these.
David Jackson says
They look so tasty
DANIELLE VEDMORE says
Yummy I love trout! One of my favourite fishes :0
Debbie Skerten says
My Dad used to make Haddock fishcakes when I was a little girl. Lovely memories. Thanks for the recipe.
Sam Williams says
I agree, removing all the bones is a real chore, but the taste of fresh trout makes it worth it
rebecca nisbet says
mmmm!!! love trout, gorgeous recipe!!!
Heather Haigh says
I adore trout. My hubby is absolutely paranoid about fish bones so I have spent many an hour laboriously pin-boning them. I have made fishcakes before but never used crushed cornflakes – great idea and I have gluten free ones in the cupboard – Oh yes I shall give this a go.
glenn hutton says
Home made fish cakes – how nice!
My Golden Pear says
24 trout! What a lovely neighbour. Home made fish cakes are always a treat.
upallhours says
Hello! This has made my mouth water!
Will be trying this recipe for sure (well my other half will, he is the chef in the house!)
Sam
Elizabeth says
Ooh I hope you do and I hope you enjoy them! The crunch coating works really, really well – especially when served with the parsley sauce. It’s a comfort food of mine. 🙂
belleau kitchen says
oh man, we have a trout stream at the bottom of the hill and I tell you what… tomorrow I am going fishing!… I love your fishcakes, they are adorable. x
Elizabeth says
Good luck with your fishing tomorrow, do share some photos of your catch! 🙂