This month-end recipe for these Fish bites, and shaped into cakes for fish cakes, evolved from a few requests to eliminate the nut flours from my original recipe for Fish Balls / Fish Cakes, a method I often use, with success. The taste factor is pure fish with herbs and spices and with proper chilling, these fish bites hold well, during and after frying.
I made this delights from inexpensive, canned middle-cut fish and the flavour is enhanced by the addition of exactly what you choose to add into the mixture, pre-cooking. Canned Tuna or Canned Salmon would work just as well with this recipe.
It is indeed a budget beater in a protein meal. The can of middlecut, drained, yielded 280g of fish and made 8 medium-sized fish bites. Moulded larger, and flattened, 4 medium-sized fish cakes may be made too. I served these with a cold and hot salad of veggies and lettuce, with avocado and fresh lime juice combined with Paleo Mayonnaise. The end result was a filling and nutritious lower carb meal.
Ingredients
1 can Middlecut fish (in water or brine – should you access the olive oil preserved variety, you may use this too)
1 tsp fresh garlic paste
1 tsp onion powder
Dry seasoning to of choice to taste (herbs or spices) I used cumin powder and masala and dill
Fresh herbs chopped, including coriander, dill, mint and/ or flat leave parsley
Optional: Fresh green chilli or chilli flakes
Himalayan or Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 egg, whisked
½ cup dry, rough desiccated coconut
Coconut oil or Olive oil for frying, less than ¼ cup
Here’s How
- Drain the fish from the brine (you may want to rinse off briskly under running cold water) Separate the fish pieces and remove the middle bone. Add the fish to a glass bowl, together with the herbs and spices and mix well to combine. You should have a well combined mixture, which you can mould into ping pong ball shapes using the palms of your hand. You may wish to make into fish cake sizes shapes.
- Using two small bowls, add the beaten egg into one and the desiccated coconut into the other. Dip and roll each fish bite into to egg and roll in the desiccated coconut. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of one hour, to firm up.
- After the fish bites have firmed up [they are actually pretty good tasting unfried after chilling
], heat a non-stick frying pan on medium stove top heat. Add in the coconut oil (I used 2 tablespoons). When the oil is hot, add in the fish bites, and brown gently on all sides, until evenly golden brown.
- Remove onto absorbent kitchen paper towel, and serve with veggies and / or a salad, as desired.
Enjoy
Fish bites on a bed of lettuce and rocket, with warm roasted aubergines, chargrilled sweet red peppers and roasted rosa tomatoes. Avocado and fresh lime juice blended mayonnaise for dipping.
