3-Step Fish Cakes

This super easy recipe is one of my new favourites when it comes to whipping up a healthy protein-packed meal for the family in a matter of minutes. It’s also one of those recipes to keep up your sleeve when you find yourself rummaging through a near empty fridge or pantry!

These fish cakes are gluten-free and can be made using a veriety of fish, veggies, fresh herbs and spices (depending on what combination you can concoct using the ingredients you already have). If you’re using tinned salmon, I would recommend using a hand blender to mash up the edible bones good and proper. Other fish that works really well is smoked fish like salmon, snoek, trout or makerel (making sure that all bones are removed). Tinned crab or shredded crabsticks could work really well too. If you would like to use fresh, raw fish, adjust the cooking time to make double sure that the cakes are well cooked through before serving.

They’re ideal for little hands to hold and a scrumptious way to ensure that your little one gets in their recommended weekly dose of fish. By getting creative with the filling ingredients (see some additional suggestions below), means that you can keep things exciting!

Although I used almond flour in this recipe for its nutty taste, you could really make use of any flour you prefer. I would recommend using a food processor to get the vegetables super tiny, which is an awesome trick to get fussy little people to eat their veggies!

What you’ll need:

• 3 x tins tuna, drained (or 2 cups of any finely diced/minced fish of your choice)
• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 x free-range eggs
• 1 red pepper
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes 
• 2 Tbs spring onion or 1/2 red onion
• 2 Tbs Italian parsley
• 1 heaped tsp paprika
• 1 tsp herb salt
• 3-4 cracks black pepper
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• Juice of 1/2 a large lemon
• 2-3 Tbs coconut oil or olive oil for frying

Method:

1. Prep your veggies: place the red pepper, cherry tomatoes, onions and parsley into a food processor and pulse until finely diced (pour out any liquid after processing).
2. Get your filling ready: beat the eggs together in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add in the flour, tuna, veggies, herbs, garlic, lemon and spices. Use clean hands to mix all of the ingredients together until well combined.
3. Ready, steady, cook: heat 1 Tbs of oil in a non-stick pan on a medium-high heat. Take a handful of mixture at a time and then shape it to form a ball. Place it in the pan and press down gently using a spatula. Repeat until you have three patties in the pan. Flip the tuna cakes every three minutes. You want to ensure that they cook right through, so if they start burning turn the heat down slightly. Repeat the process until you have used up all of the mixture, adding more oil to the pan as you go. Total cooking time should be around 6-8 minutes depending on the heat of your stove and the size of the fish cakes.

This recipe makes around 6 fish cakes that are the size of standard hamburger patties. You may prefer to keep them smaller for little ones. Serve with veggies or starch of your choice and something wholesome for dipping like free-range mayo with fresh herbs or homemade tomato sauce.

Other filling choices could include; caramelised onion, dill, coriander, grated cheese, crumbled feta, cooked corn/peas, grated carrot, grated zucchini, green pepper, pineapple.

For more healthy and delicious recipes for the entire family, get your copy of Hungry Little Monkey’s eBook here.

* The above recipe will need to be adapted, should your child have an allergy to any of the ingredients mentioned.