Something a little retro for lunch

Now, I have a love hate relationship with fishcakes.  I remember distinctly in the late 1990s and early 2000s that everyone was eating a fishcake.  A popular starter in those slightly naff nouveau cuisine restaurants or a midweek favourite supper, supermarket purchased of course. Now I struggle with fishcakes for dinner, what do you serve them with?  They have spuds in them and I can't double carb (unless very hungover), but a fishcake with a bit of veg or salad does not make a dinner after a long day in the office.  So, Nigel's recipe of Smoked Mackerel fishcakes on 31 January (page 33 -35), in this house will be cooked for lunch.  Picture of Nigel's:

These have some great flavours, including a rather phallic one:

You only need a small amount of horseradish for the recipe but this is the smallest one I could buy.  Although fear not for those who hate food waste, it is really easy to freeze.  I actually used less in the recipe as my son was eating it and it was making my eyes water just grating it (worse than an onion). Another ingredient to mention is the smoked mackerel.  Nigel recommends a whole fresh smoked mackerel but that the packet stuff is a good close second.  So second place it is for me.  I love smoked mackeral and it is great fridge food for easy lunches and suppers.  I used 5 slivers to make what I thought looked like a whole fish (a mackerel puzzle if you will):

Finally, Nigel adds beetroot to the fishcakes for sweetness but it adds the most wonderful colour and on a dark gloomy day at the end January it really brightens the mood:

Once again, it is a bung it all together kind of recipe.  Although I have tried to make them look pretty before they have to chill in the fridge.  I love this pink colour, I do not eat enough pink food:

So, the tension mounts and here is the finished article.  Served with a salad of baby kale, spinach and something else I can't remember (it was a packet).  I also made a quick cheat's homemade lemon mayonnaise by melting a little butter in the pan, adding some shop bought mayo, stirring over a low heat and squeezing in some lemon juice to taste.

I actually think this is a perfect weekend lunch.  Although I ate the leftover fish cakes for lunch today, slightly less classily with a fried egg and my son's leftover baked beans. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

JanieCooksNigel

Cooked 30/1/16
Blog 1/2/16