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Delicious, family-friendly salmon and sweet potato fishcakes. Perfect for a quick and healthy dinner.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by Iceland and asked to create a recipe as part of their Power of Frozen campaign. I’ll admit I’m not a regular Iceland shopper, in fact before heading into the store to stock up on ingredients for this recipe, I can’t remember the last time I went into one. However, as you know, I love trying new things and I love a good recipe creation challenge so I jumped at the chance. Especially as many other bloggers I love have been joining in and have come up with brilliant new creations (just take a look at the #PowerOfFrozen hashtag on twitter to see what you can find). If you’re after more inspiration, there’s also a cookbook full of recipe ideas by food blogger Holly Bell (of GBBO season 2 fame) with all profits going to the Children’s Food Trust.
I have to admit that I was really pleasantly surprised with what I found. I’d assumed Iceland stores were full of freezers packed full of cheap ready meals, and perhaps an aisle with a few store cupboard essentials. But Iceland, I’m so sorry, I owe you a big apology. My local store was lovely, bright and clean and had a really good selection of not just frozen foods, but fresh too. Yes, you will get a bigger selection of fresh bits in some other stores, but it had all the essentials and all the boys favourite fruit and veg. However, the section I was really impressed with was the frozen fish. There was a really big selection which tasted just as good as fish I’ve had from other places costing twice the price. You can also cook a lot of it straight from frozen making for a quick, easy and healthy dinner. I’ve been so impressed with the fish that I’m planning on getting a regular delivery (which is free if you spend over £40) to stock my freezer up.
While I was there I couldn’t resist stocking up on some of their speciality burgers and meats (and some eclairs – I’ve no idea how they jumped into my basket). I chose crocodile, kangaroo and ostrich and I’m looking forward to playing a game of guess what you’re eating with the boys! Keep an eye out on my twitter over the next couple of weeks to find out how it goes.
Getting the children involved in the kitchen
These fishcakes are perfect for getting your little ones to help out in the kitchen as they’re simply a case of chucking everything in a bowl, giving it a quick stir and then forming it into fishcake-shaped lumps. I have a slight tendency to only get the boys to help me with naughty treats like cakes and biscuits so it’s been great to encourage them to join in with something healthy too.
These fishcakes are packed full of healthy ingredients – salmon, sweet potato (I’ve talked before about trying to switch from regular potatoes to sweet because they’re so good for you), wholemeal breadcrumbs and red onion. Daniel can still be a little fussy about sweet potatoes but hidden away in these fishcakes they disappeared completely :-). I served them with peas, sweetcorn and some chopped baby plum tomatoes for the children and some chips and salad for us (all from Iceland of course). One of the brilliant things about using frozen ingredients is that a lot of the goodness is locked in during the freezing process so they retain their nutritional health benefits better than some of their fresh alternatives.
When we make these fishcakes we mix the main ingredients (salmon, sweet potato mash, breadcrumbs and red onion) and use just these for the boys, and then I’ll add some sweet chilli sauce, chopped red chilli and salt before making the ones for us grownups (the boys ones are lovely but we like the little chilli kick!). I also like to add a little chopped coriander to mine but Jon’s not too sure about that one.
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Salmon & Sweet Potato Fishcakes
INGREDIENTS
- 600 g Iceland salmon fillets
- 300 g Iceland sweet potato mash - or 300g sweet potatoes
- ½ red onion
- 80 g whole breadcrumbs - breadcrumbs from about 2 slices of bread
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Optional
- 4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- ½-1 red chilli - depending on how much of a kick you want it to have
- Salt
RECIPE VIDEO
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cook the salmon and sweet potato mash according to the packet instructions (or peel and boil the sweet potatoes until soft if you’re using fresh ones).
- Very finely chop your red onion and chilli (if using).
- Put your cooked salmon fillet into a large bowl and break it up into small pieces. Add the sweet potato, breadcrumbs and chopped red onion and give it all a good stir.
- Optional (or for after you’ve removed mixture for the children’s fishcakes) add the sweet chilli sauce (4 tbsp), chopped chilli, and season with salt. Give it another good mix.
- Divide your mixture into 8 and roll each one into a ball. Pat it flat until you have something that resembles a fishcake.
- If you have time, put the fishcakes onto a plate and cover with clingfilm. Put them into the fridge for about half an hour (this helps them to firm up and stay together during cooking – although I’ve skipped this step and still cooked them without any problems, you just have to handle them a touch more carefully).
- Heat the olive oil (1 tbsp) in a large frying pan (you may want to cook these in 2 batches or use 2 pans so they’re not all squashed in). Turn the heat down to low-medium and add the fishcakes. Cook on one side for 4-5 minutes and then carefully flip them over. Cook them on the other side for a further 4-5 minutes until hot all the way through, then serve.
NOTES
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Free From/Suitable For…
- Corn-Free
- Dairy-Free
- Egg-Free
- Nut-Free
Can be made gluten and soy-free by using breadcrumbs that are made excluding these allergens.
The ingredients for this recipe are easily available free from all these allergens. However, please ensure you double-check allergen information for all ingredients.
I’m sharing this recipe with the following blog challenges… CookBlogShare with Sneaky Veg, Recipe of the Week with A Mummy Too and Tasty Tuesdays with Honest Mum.
fiona says
9 May 2019 at 9:48 amCan I cook these in the oven instead of frying?
Charlotte Oates says
9 May 2019 at 2:46 pmI haven’t tried it so I’m not too sure how well it would work – sorry.
James says
16 April 2018 at 6:42 pmWe thought these fishcakes were really tasty, if not a little rustic looking! They had a lot of flavour particularly with the sweet chilli sauce. We’re trying to eat more healthily and will definitely make these again.
Charlotte Oates says
21 April 2018 at 11:23 amThere’s nothing wrong with rustic looking as long as they taste good 🙂
Bob says
3 May 2017 at 4:54 pmSorry to say, that I thought they were horrible. Bits of the salmon were hard and I don’t know how I could have avoided that, as I cooked them only until brown. I am looking for new recipes for when my dear lady comes to stay with me from South America in a while and I won’t be cooking this for her.
Charlotte Oates says
5 May 2017 at 11:38 pmHi Bob, I’m sorry to hear that. How did you cook the salmon? I usually poach mine or cook it in the microwave until just pink.
Bob says
6 May 2017 at 10:27 amHello Charlotte. I boiled it with the sweet potatoes. But put it in towards the end, just for 5 minutes. I think that as it wasn’t actually coated with breadcrumbs etc, it may have been more vulnerable to coming out a bit hard. i did enjoy the cold ones more, that I ate the next day.
I am going to do a recipe which will have more of a coating. Sorry to disappoint. As with a lot of recipes, the first attempt is usually a learning experience.
Charlotte Oates says
6 May 2017 at 4:46 pmThanks for taking the time to get back to me. I love feedback on my recipes as it helps me to understand what’s worked for people and that hasn’t worked so well so I can ensure recipes work as well as possible for everyone.
faz says
31 January 2017 at 4:17 pmcan you freeze these cakes
Charlotte Oates says
7 February 2017 at 12:33 pmI’ve not tried it. Personally I wouldn’t as the ingredients have already been frozen once and I would worry about refreezing, but I’m very cautious about these things.
Louise says
19 September 2017 at 2:25 amWhat about if you use fresh ingredients?
Charlotte Oates says
20 September 2017 at 9:47 amAre there any ingredients in particular you’d like instructions for?
Helen @ family-friends-food.com says
27 April 2016 at 9:26 pmThese look lovely! For some reason I only seem to make fish cakes in the summer (!) so I’ll bookmark this for a couple of month’s time 🙂
Charlotte Oates says
28 April 2016 at 10:51 amI know exactly what you mean Helen, I have foods that it only feels right to cook at certain times of year too. I hope you enjoy them when you eventually get around to trying them x
Corina says
27 April 2016 at 3:10 pmWhat a great recipe for getting the kids involved in the kitchen. I have to admit that I also make more sweet things with my children but we did manage homemade fish fingers once and this would be another good one to try with them!
Charlotte Oates says
27 April 2016 at 3:49 pmI’m glad it’s not just me! I read so many posts about the super healthy things people make with their children and feel a bit bad about our cakes and biscuits, it was nice to be on the other side of things for a change.
Mandy says
27 April 2016 at 1:44 pmThese look really good and I bet the salmon goes perfectly with the sweet potato. I liked reading about how you’ve adapted your portion as well – this is something I’m trying to do more of as I often end up cooking two separate meals instead, which is such a waste of time! Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare
Charlotte Oates says
27 April 2016 at 2:02 pmI always try and feed the boys the same as us but sometimes we just want something I know they won’t like (or shouldn’t really have) so it’s great to be able to make something similar and then tweak it at the end with minimal effort. I also add extra spice into our chilli con carne just before serving for the same reason.
Sarah says
26 April 2016 at 4:49 pmI have been so inspired by all the #PowerOfFrozen recipes and this sounds right up my street too. I love fishcakes – haven’t made them in ages! Sounds so good with the sweet potato.
Charlotte Oates says
26 April 2016 at 10:26 pmI’ve been really inspired by the #PowerOfFrozen campaign too and it’s been brilliant to be able to be a part of it. I’d definitely recommend having a go at adding sweet potato to fishcakes, it adds so much flavour and it’s healthier too!