Hello Dear Reader,
If you have family members who will eat fish and chips, fish fingers and processed fish but won't eat a plain cheap fillet of fish, then hide the fish in a fishcake! I can guarantee that they will love these.
Fish is so expensive, some fish is the same price as fillet steak! Consequently, we don't eat much fresh fish and I buy tinned, smoked or frozen. It has the same nutritional value and with some crafty cooking it's just as tasty.
To make them you will need value white fish - what ever is cheap where you live - I boughthalf a kilo of pollock from Tesco for £1.65 and that bag will make several meals for the two of us. It will make fishcakes, fish pie and also fish in breadcrumbs that just gets fried and eaten with chips.
Here's the ingredients
4 small fillets of pollock - 250g - I cooked mine in my microwave steamer for about 5 minutes from frozen so it's just cooked. Then flake the fish.82p
6 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed and add salt, pepper and butter (margarine will do if you don't have butter - 10p
Enough milk to make the potato a bit smoother but it needs to still be firm enough to form into 'cakes' American readers, this is nothing like the mashed potato that you serve, we cook the potatoes and then add a little butter and milk so it's not smooth like a puree but firmer. 5p
2 beaten eggs - 33p
1 handful of finely chopped parsley - I grow this in a tub by my door
zest of 1 lemon - 17p
Total cost of 9 fish cakes - £1.47 - we had 5 between us for our supper - 82p
1/4 bag of fresh carrots - sliced and steamed - 10p
1/4 bag of frozen green beans - steamed - 25p
Our meal tonight cost £1.17 for both of us - 59p each. Now that's what I call frugal.
Mix together the still warm buttery mash with lemon zest, parsley, flaked fish and beaten egg. You can fry these but the butter keeps them moist if you just oven bake them. I drizzled a little oil onto the baking tray and on top of the fish cakes. I used my round pastry cutter as a mould with the crinkly part facing up, then pushed the potato mixture into the mould and when full, I lifted it off and made another fish cake. I formed them on the tray so I didn't have to make them and then move them.
I served mine with steamed carrots and beans and a huge spoon of Tartar sauce. If you don't have tartar, juice the lemon and add the juice to some mayonaise and the lemony mayonaise and pour over the fish cakes. You could just squeeze the lemon juice onto the fish cakes for less calories.
I love the fluffy, fishy, zesty and herby insides with the buttery crispy outsides. Our main meal was well under £1 each today as I have fish cakes for lunch tomorrow and the day after. They are fine cold with some salad for lunch. 82p of fish made nine fish cakes, any family on a budget would find that affordable.
Let me know if you try these, I promise you they are better than any fishcakes you can buy.
Whilst I'm here, if you need to get hold of me, check my 'contact' as I have a new email address, I always love to hear from you and do my very best to answer every email.
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxx