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!
Nigel Slater’s Slow Cooked Lamb (Shetland Produce)
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wow,yahmmyyy,trout.I like fishcake.awesome recipe!!!
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.
What a beautiful story and recipe. Sounds deeelish!
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.
What a great earthy orange colour you have made these.
They look so tasty
Yummy I love trout! One of my favourite fishes :0
My Dad used to make Haddock fishcakes when I was a little girl. Lovely memories. Thanks for the recipe.
I agree, removing all the bones is a real chore, but the taste of fresh trout makes it worth it
mmmm!!! love trout, gorgeous recipe!!!
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.
Home made fish cakes – how nice!
24 trout! What a lovely neighbour. Home made fish cakes are always a treat.
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
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. 🙂
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
Good luck with your fishing tomorrow, do share some photos of your catch! 🙂