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Fish Cakes

These Moroccan fish cakes can be served as a first course with green salad leaves. They also make good finger food for a party. Use cod, haddock, or another firm white fish.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 15 fish cakes

Ingredients

1 pound firm, white fish fillets, skinned
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
Good pinch of chili pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 egg, beaten lightly
Peel of 1/2 to 1 preserved lemon, finely chopped (see page 7) (optional)
Handful of chopped flat-leafed parsley or cilantro, or a mix of both
About 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Olive oil for deep-frying
To garnish: 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cut the fish fillets into pieces and put them in the food processor with the rest of the ingredients except the flour and oil. Process for about 5 seconds only, until it is finely chopped and the ingredients are well mixed. It is important not to let it turn into a paste.

    Step 2

    Sprinkle the flour onto a plate. Wet your hands, take a lump of the fish mixture the size of a small egg, roll it into a ball, and flatten it. Do the same with the rest of the mixture, then turn the fish cakes in the flour to cover them all over.

    Step 3

    Shallow-fry the cakes in hot oil until browned, turning them over once. Lift them out and drain on paper towels. Serve hot or cold, accompanied by lemon wedges.

  2. variation

    Step 4

    You can use the same fish mixture as above to make balls rather than cakes. These are very good poached in a tomato sauce. For the sauce, fry 4 to 5 finely chopped garlic cloves in 2 tablespoons olive oil for a moment or two, add 2 pounds peeled and chopped tomatoes, 1 to 2 teaspoons sugar, salt, a pinch of chili pepper, and cook for 10 minutes. Roll the fish mixture into balls, drop them into the sauce, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Arabesque
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