Aren’t you a little tired of taking over the hob 7 days a week, 30 days a month? Sometimes we all need to rest. Okay, not sometimes. We often need to rest. And how do we get it when talking about cooking? Some say – food prep is an answer, but as for me – I like it a bit fresher than 2 days in the fridge. We all use a little take away now and then and that totally suits my definition of rest, but it’s a bit pricey to use it every time I don’t have energy to cook a proper dinner. So my way is to teach my kids to cook, so they can take responsibility for family meals once in a while.
Today Ilya cooked some delicious salmon fishcakes (and even didn’t do much mess in the kitchen- Yay!) This recipe might require adults’ help when boiling fish and taking baking tray out of the oven. Everything else is safe and absolutely doable for a 10 year old.
Potatoes, salmon and some herbs and greens – that’s all it takes. It results in a yummy piece like this.
- 400 g salmon
- 1 bay leaf
- a handful of parsley (pick the leaves, and save the stalks)
- 500 g potatoes
- 20 g butter
- salt and black pepper
- 1 egg
- a little plain flour to dust your hands
- 1 cup of bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Peel potatoes and cut them into large chunks. Put them into a pan, pour some water just enough to cover potatoes. Add some salt and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer in the pan for about 15-20 minutes (set the timer) or until tender in the middle (try with a fork).
- Put the salmon into a pan large enough to fit salmon in single layer. Cover with water, add a bay leaf and some parsley stalks. Bring to boil and reduce the heat, so the water keeps bubbling just a little. Cook for 4 minutes and take of the heat.
- Remove the salmon from the pan using a spatula. Put it on a plate and leave to cool.
- When the potatoes are ready, drain them (ask parents), then add butter, a pinch of salt, some black pepper. Mash potatoes until almost smooth (it's always good to have some chunks in the fishcake - adds texture - but no one loves it completely chunky).
- Flake the fish using a fork. Starting from an edge press the fork into the fish from the top and to the side. Remove the skin and bones if any.
- Chop the parsley leaves using kitchen scissors.
- Break an egg into a bowl and beat a little with a fork.
- Add salmon flakes, parsley and 1 tablespoon of beaten egg to potatoes. Stir well.
- Heat the oven to 200C. Prepare a baking tray, brush it with some olive oil.
- Divide the cake mixture into 8 parts. Put a little flour on your hands to make it easier. Form 8 disks about 2 cm thick. Brush each disk with beaten egg on both sides.
- Put the bread crumbs into a bowl. Roll the fishcakes in crumbs until completely covered.
- Put the fishcakes on the tray and bake for 10 minutes. Lift them out and turn them, then return into the oven for 10 more minutes, until crispy and golden.
- *The salmon will change the colour while cooking, note how pale it becomes!
- **To make chopping parsley easier, put the leaves into a wide cup and work the scissors inside the cup.
- ***Don't forget to turn off the oven.
