Smoked Haddock and Chive fishcakes

The fondue was nice but a bit gimmicky for an everyday meal. I made a Swiss fondue with emmental and gruyere, recipes for this are widely available on the internet if you fancy trying one. I made the fish cakes the other evening for dinner.  This isn't a meal that can just be thrown together because of all the different stages involved, but if you have the time the end result is worth it. I bought frozen haddock pieces which could be cooked in the microwave and were surprisingly chunky, also a lot cheaper than fresh haddock. If you didn't have chives, you could substitute some chopped capers or grate in some lemon rind and add a bit of lemon juice for extra flavour. I made a lemon mayonnaise to dip the fishcakes in, they were so much better than the bland, potatoey ones you can buy. This is another meal that can be made in advance and cooked when you are ready. They can also be frozen. 

Ingredients

Makes 12-14
floury potatoes 1.2 kg, peeled and cut into chunks
trimmed leeks 250g, chopped
butter 50g
smoked haddock 600g
chives 2 tbsp of finely chopped
flour for dusting
eggs 2, beaten
dried breadcrumbs 150g

Method
Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, then drain well and mash or push through a potato ricer into a bowl.
Cook the leeks in the butter with seasoning until really soft. Leave to cool.
Put the smoked haddock on a microwavable plate, cover with clingfilm and cook for 3 minutes, or cook in a little water in a covered pan, then drain well. Leave for 5 minutes, then flake into big chunks, discarding any skin or bone.
Stir the leeks and chives into the potato bowl, then fold through the haddock. Taste and add more seasoning if needed. Form into 8 cakes and chill for 20 minutes.
Dust the cakes in flour, then dip them in the beaten egg and finally roll them in the breadcrumbs until covered.

To cook, heat a little oil in a pan, then fry for 4-5 minutes on each side until they are golden all over and piping hot in the middle.

If you want to freeze them;
Open-freeze the fishcakes on sheets of baking paper for 2 hours, then transfer to containers or bags and freeze until needed.
Follow the cooking instructions above once completely defrosted.

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