Smoked haddock & herb fish cakes with quick hollandaise

By: James Martin
From: Fast Cooking
Serves: 4
Photographer: Tara Fisher

Yes, bought mashed potatoes. They’re a great shortcut for binding the fish, and make this so quick, with no need to boil or peel potatoes. You could also buy the hollandaise to make it even easier, but this method is really simple, and making it yourself will mean it tastes so much nicer. If I told you to buy everything, it wouldn’t be cooking, would it?

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient

For the fish cakes

Quantity	Ingredient
300g	undyed smoked haddock
1 small bunch	fresh chives
200g	ready-made mashed potatoes
25g	plain flour
50ml	vegetable oil
	sea salt
	freshly ground black pepper
	green salad leaves, to serve (optional)

For the hollandaise

Quantity	Ingredient
4	egg yolks
200ml	melted clarified butter
4 teaspoons	lemon juice
4 teaspoons	white wine vinegar

Method

Cut the smoked haddock into small dice. Finely chop the chives.
In a bowl, gently fold together the smoked haddock, mashed potato and chives and season with salt and pepper. Shape into 4 rounds and dust with flour.
Heat the oil over a medium-low heat in a large, deep frying pan and cook for 3–4 minutes on each side.
While the fish cakes are cooking, place the egg yolks in a food processor and drizzle in the butter slowly so that the sauce thickens. Finish with the lemon juice and vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with the fish cakes, with some salad leaves alongside, if you like.