Home-Made Fishcakes

Although you need a little bit of forward planning, home-made fishcakes are super-easy to make, and are actually a great little beer snack. Surprisingly, tinned fish makes better fishcakes than fresh, I find. To be honest, you can use any fish you like, I reckon - but here's my version. Be sure to use fresh herbs though - it really does make a difference in the end.

Fishcakes (makes 6-8)
You Will Need:
One tin of Red Salmon
One small tin of Mackerel
150g of potatoes - Rooster's or King Edwards will do fine
2 tbspns Mayonanaise
2 Hardboiled eggs, cooled and chopped
2 pickled gherkins
A small amount of chopped anchovies - about four
Salt & Pepper to season
A pinch of Cayenne pepper
Chopped, fresh parsley and dill - a good fistful of each
A squeeze of Lemon
A dash of tomato puree

1. Boil your potatoes, and mash. Then, in a large bowl, add the mayonnaise a mash some more. Use a fork to then 'whip' it up so it's creamy.
2. From here, all you need to do is add your fish, gherkins, egg, and various seasonings to the potato and fork again - enough to mix but don't obliterate it.
3. Cover, and chill for three hours. This is really important - if your mix is not chilled, it will dissolve in the pan.

Get a couple of plates out and in a bowl crack two eggs and whisk. Place some plain flour on one plate, and some ready-made breadcrumbs on the last one.
In a chip-pan, heat up enough oil to shallow fry the cakes.

When the oil is hot, shape the mix into cakes, then dip into the egg, drain, then into the flour and then roll in the crumbs. Then place the cakes carefully in the hot oil. They'll only take a couple of minutes each side. When cooked, drain on some kitchen paper and serve with a big dollop of tomato or tartare sauce.

Easy enough, but takes a bit of planning for the mix to chill. As for the fish, use what you like. I washed this down with a cold pint of Timothy Taylor Landlord Pale Ale. I chose this great beer because despite being pale, it's got a really bitter edge and a really juicy maltiness that stands up to the oily fish without overpowering it. Lovely.