Salmon and sweet potato fish cakes whilst the summer’s still with us

I love fishcakes, from posh gastro pub ones to the mush they breadcrumb and fry from the local chippy. There’s something perfect for me about eating fish in such a low admin format. No bones, no skin, just the best bits combined with mash. My Mum and Dad bought us some delicious salmon from M & S recently. Given that the salmon we usually buy is from Asda this was something of a treat. If only for the amazing packaging. Each fillet individually vacuum wrapped. Genius.

As the M & S salmon was so special I thought it deserved more than your average white mashed potato fish cake treatment, so turned to the wonderful sweet variety – so loved by babies. The combo works well flavourwise, even if it does look a little radioactive.

Ingredients:

• 2 fillets of salmon (uncooked and skinless) chopped into 1cm squares
• 8 spring onions chopped
• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes
• 1 tsp of ground black pepper
• a shake of salt
• 1 tbsp dried dill
• 1 egg, beaten
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• 2 handfuls of breadcrumbs (I keep fresh breadcrumbs I’ve whizzed up from stale bread bagged up in the freezer. You can use them from frozen, the same as fresh ones.)

Peel the sweet potatoes, chop and boil until tender, then drain and leave to cool in a sieve (and also for the steam to evaporate.) Then mash. Add the salmon, spring onion, dill and salt and pepper and mix gently with a metal spoon until combined. You’re looking for a mixture that’s more fish and onion than sweet potato. The potato is mostly a binding agent.

Pop the oven on to Gas 6. Next get a production line going. You need 3 small plates, one with the flour on, one with the beaten egg on and one with the breadcrumbs on. Divide the mixture into 4 and mould each quarter into fish cake shapes. They can be a bit tricky to handle as they have so little potato but it’s worth it. Dip each fish cake carefully into the flour first, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Pop each one onto a baking tray. As a teenager I worked for a few weeks in a factory putting the fake credit cards into cheap purses and handbags (to buy my Reading Festival ticket) so feel I have a natural talent for fish cake production line dipping.

Oven bake for 20ish minutes until the breadcrumbs are starting to go a golden colour and the cakes feel firm to the touch, then serve with what Mr B calls ‘a medley of green seasonal vegetables.’ I think Charlie would have liked these fish cakes but unfortunately he was already in bed and we snaffled the lot.

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