Oh, I love fish cakes. Proper fishcakes mind, not those weird orange discs you used to get at school or down the chippie. And not like the mushy ones you often are served in some restaurants either. I have been making these on and off for ages now and tailor them to whatever fish I have in and tweaked them so they are just how I like them.

One of the things I've found is that they are much better made late the previous night and popped in the fridge. The other thing is that the potatoes are better ever, ever so slightly under done. Both of these things will eliminate the mush factor.

I've made small versions of these as starters and are my staple for mid-week supper nights with friends as everything is prepared and quick to cook when I get back from work.

Serves 4 / 8 fishcakes

Ingredients
500g white potatoes
200g smoked mackerel fillets
300g of cooked pollack / other white fish
3 tbsp hot horseradish sauce
a bunch spring onions
grated zest from half a lemon
a small handful of tarragon / dried is fine if you have none fresh
2 tbsp plain seasoned flour
1 large egg
200g breadcrumbs*
sunflower or vegetable oil



Boil the potatoes (remember to take them off the boil slightly underdone) and drain very well, leaving them in the colander for a while to cool. Mash well.
Into the mash flake the mackerel and other fish, removing any skin and bones. Add the horseradish, zest, very finely chopped spring onions and herbs and mix well. Season if needed.

Divide the mixture into 8 balls, making sure they are pressed together firmly. Dust the balls with the seasoned flour, then coat with egg and roll with in breadcrumbs. Form a nice flat round shape and pop onto a clean plate. Cover and pop in the fridge overnight. You can use them the same day but I would still give them an hour to chill.

Take them out for about an hour to take the fridge chill off and shallow fry in the oil until lovely and crisp.

I serve them with a salad, lemon wedges and chutney or a salsa.

* I have a mini chopper that I blitz all slightly stale or hard ends of good quality bread into crumbs, then pop them into a bag in the freezer for future use. So easy and gives you a never ending supply of decent breadcrumbs.