Seafood cakes with a caper sauce and mixed herbs

The fishcakes can be made with any leftover fish from a previous meal.

Serves 4

The mashed potatoes:
300 g/0.5 oz potatoes, peeled
2 tablespoons/30 ml créme fraîsche (make your own)
2 tablespoons/30 ml milk, heated
salt and freshly ground white pepper

The seafood:
1 tablespoon/15 ml olive oil
8 medium prawns, shelled, deveined
200 g/7 oz firm white fish OR 100 g/3.5 oz  salmon and 100 g/3.5 oz
firm white fish
100 g/3.5 oz smoked salmon
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 small mild red chili, finely chopped
1 tablespoon/15 ml lemon juice
1 egg lightly beaten
1 tablespoon/15 ml parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh coriander, finely chopped
salt and fresh ground black pepper
Japanese breadcrumbs (Panko)
oil for deep-frying

The sauce:
2 hard-boiled egg
½ teaspoon/3 ml Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup/125 ml peanut oil
2 teaspoons/10 ml white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon/15 ml capers, drained, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons/30 ml gherkins (cornichons), finely chopped
1 tablespoon/15 ml of each of parsley, tarragon, chives and chervil, finely chopped

The garnish:
a mixture of fresh herb leaves
paprika for sprinkling

Cut the potatoes into even chunks and boil in salted water until tender (about 15 minutes). Drain and return to the pan and over gentle heat, reheat the potatoes until any excess moisture has evaporated.  Push the potato chunks through a potato ricer.  In the meantime, slowly add the heated milk to the potatoes whilst whisking it with a fork. Mix in the créme fraîsche, salt and pepper to taste, then cover and set aside in a warm place.

To get the potato mash even smoother, push it through a drum sieve.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and lightly fry the prawns for 1 minute.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel.  Then fry the fish until just cooked – about 2 minutes.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towel.  When the prawns and fish have cooled completely, roughly chop all of it and put in a bowl.  Cut the smoked salmon into small pieces and add to the fish and prawns.  Add the rest of the ingredients and the mashed potatoes, except the crumbs and oil, and mix well.  Put in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to set, then remove and form the cakes.  Divide the mixture into 8 equal sized cakes.  (If you find that the cakes are too big, make smaller ones to get 12 cakes.)

To make sure that all the cakes are the same size, weigh them!

Heat the oil to about 170°C/335°F. (See safety tips for deep frying.)

Roll each cake in the crumbs, making sure the crumbs stick well, then fry in the oil – about 1-2 minutes on each side until they are golden brown.  Drain on kitchen towel and keep warm until ready to serve.

Put the yolks of the boiled eggs with the mustard and salt and pepper in a blender and blend well until a smooth paste forms.  While mixing, add half the oil, drop for drop, until all the ingredients amalgamated well.  Carry on mixing and add the vinegar, then slowly add the rest of the oil.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients except the paprika.  Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary.  The paprika will be sprinkled over the sauce once it has be spooned onto the serving plates. Keep the sauce refrigerated until ready to serve.

To serve:
Place two or three fishcakes in the center of each serving plate, then put a posy of herb leaves on top or next to the cakes, and drizzle the sauce around.  Lightly sprinkle some paprika onto the sauce.