Baked Cod Cake

Felt like whipping up some sort of fish cake today since I have a bunch of potatoes and came across some cod today. These fish cakes are NOT the east coast style kind as mine are made from regular cod and potato and are not fried. The mixture is soft so I lightly coated the fish and potato patties with just a light coating of whole wheat panko. I think a secret here is using whole wheat panko. I don’t think regular panko will work out as well. The coating comes out very crispy!

Ingredients for 8 generous servings

2 lbs baking potato peeled – cut in halves – and placed in a pot of water

2 Tablespoons kosher salt – to boil with potatoes

1/2 onion (to boil with potatoes – discard after potatoes are boiled)

2 garlic cloves  (to boil with potatoes – discard after potatoes are boiled)

1 celery rib (to boil with potatoes – discard after potatoes are boiled)

1 carrot ( to boil with potatoes – discard after potatoes are boiled)

1 hot pepper (to boil with potatoes – discard after potatoes are boiled) ((I used a banana pepper)

1/3 cup grated onions

1 celery rib – chopped very fine

1 garlic clove – ground to paste

1 Tablespoon unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 lb cod

fresh ground sea salt to taste

fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/4 cup (scant) extra virgin olive oil (to drizzle under and over the fish)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1 Tablespoon heavy cream

1/4 cup scallions – chopped

1/8 teaspoon white pepper

1 L egg – slightly beaten

1 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs

non – stick spray – either canola or vegetable

Directions

Turn oven on to 425 degrees F

In a pot add potatoes, 2 Tablespoons salt, 1/2 onion, 1 celery rib, carrot and hot pepper on to a medium boil. Boil the potatoes till fork tender.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with extra virgin olive oil and Fresh ground sea salt and black pepper. Place the fish on top of the olive oil and seasoning. Now drizzle the top of the fish(s) with olive oil and lightly sprinkle the fish with fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place the fish in the oven and pull out when done. (about 15 minutes)

While the potatoes are boiling get a small fry pan on medium heat, melt the butter and then cook up the grated onion, finely chopped celery, ground garlic and thyme till everything smells good and everything is soft. It should get done very quickly because everything should be very fine. Set to the side.

When the potatoes are fork tender. Discard the onion, garlic, carrot celery and hot pepper. Drain the potatoes and hand mash. (after draining I put the potatoes back in the pot to mash) Add the onion and celery mixture from the fry pan and mash into the potatoes.

Now mash the fish into the potatoes. Add the ground black pepper, sea salt, heavy cream, scallions, white pepper and egg and mix till incorporated.

Score the mixture in quarters. Half a quarter will make a nice size patty. Make eight patties.

In a small bowl add the panko. Lightly coat each patty all over with the crumbs.

Spray the baking sheet(s) and tops of patties with Non stick spray and place the patties leaving some room around them.

After 30 minutes in the oven they should be golden brown all over.

I let them cool and then refrigerate. Latter I reheated two patties for dinner uncovered for 30 minutes (with covered vegetable sides) at 350 degrees F.

The outside is very thin and VERY CRISPY. I think they are flavored just right. My husband didn’t think he’d like them but when he tried it he couldn’t believe how yummy they were! I don’t think the Baked Cod Cakes really need a sauce but feel free to use whatever sauce you like. Back east we just use ketchup on fish cake sandwiches. I think a tarter sauce would be good, a lemon aioli or my secret sauce Asian Style shhhhh (Kewpie, a squirt of sriracha and gochujang. My husband requested cocktail sauce. I didn’t measure but this quick style cocktail sauce came out really amazing. It was Ketchup, horseradish, worcestershire, hot sauce, black pepper and bomba calabrese. My husband kept asking how did you make this? (fish cake and cocktail sauce) This is really delicious….really really very good!

Enjoy!

Baked Cod Cake

The Forking Truth

Socca with sautéed red peppers and onions

Socca Bread is a popular street food in Nice France. In Italy this bread is known as Farinata. The recipe is basically the same on any website you pick. For the most part it’s half chickpea flour and 1/2 warm water with a little salt, pepper and olive oil. The batter needs at the very least one half hour to sit out. But some people make the batter a day in advance but pull out the batter to warm at room temperature. Most people bake the batter in a preheated cast iron pan and then broil the top to brown. I don’t have a cast iron so I just used a 10 inch pot and sprayed it with non-stick spray because I almost never use anything nonstick. You can make your Socca Bread plain or add tomatoes or peppers and onions like I did. I know that chickpeas are delicious with these spices so I topped my Socca bread with a pinch of sumac, pinch of za’tar, 3 pinches of urfa pepper (it’s really delicious you need to buy some) and Persian blue salt (maybe the most delicious salt I’ve ever tasted). This is really very easy for anyone to prepare and can be done without a cast iron pan. Use any pan and if you happen to have a pizza stone place your pan on the pizza stone for extra heating. The only thing I would have done different was to cook my peppers less so I could brown the top some.

Ingredients

1 cup chickpea flour

1 cup warm water

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus a little extra to drizzle on the top

non stick spray (if you don’t have cast iron pan or two tablespoons more olive oil if you are using cast iron.

Directions

Set oven to 450 degrees F and put pizza stone in oven if you are using a pan that isn’t cast iron.

In a medium bowl mix together the chickpea flour,  water, salt, pepper, and two Tablespoons olive oil. Let sit at least one half hour.

Put your 10 inch pot or fry pan sprayed with non-stick spray on a pizza stone in your 450 degree F oven for about ten minutes to heat up. Then carefully remove from oven. Add chickpea batter. Put back in oven about 15 minutes. Broil if desired. You really want a little brown on the top.

Top and season as desired.

Socca Bread

Lighter and healthier than a pizza…you might want to give it a try!

The Forking Truth

Really Terrific Banana Bread

I saw a big bag of really ripe bananas and thought I haven’t made a banana bread in a while so here it is. Banana Bread might have been the first thing I ever baked that I free styled. I used to bake a few loaves every week and shared the bread with my co-workers. It’s pretty basic and easy and you can make the banana bread in one bowl. This recipe makes two loaves or about 24 servings. You must use really ripe bananas like as ripe as photo for the banana flavor. The bread comes out sweet (but not too sweet), moist and almost caramelized. It’s a tasty treat that seems almost healthy.

Ingredients for about 24 servings

4 oz sweet butter – melted

2 cups sugar

1 cup dark brown sugar

3 XL eggs – slightly beaten

12 bananas

4 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

pinch sea salt

non stick canola spray

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl add butter, then sugars, mix well, add eggs, mix well.

Add bananas and mash with potato masher till pretty smooth.

Add rest of dry ingredients and hand mix till combined.

Spray two bread loaf pans with non stick spray.

Divide the batter between the two pans.

In my oven the loaves were done in 45 and 50 minutes. remove from oven when the top of loaf in the crack feels cooked.

Let the loaves rest on a counter and pop them out when they cool to just warm.

Slice and serve.

Really Terrific Banana Bread

Really Terrific Banana Bread

Came out great I just winged it. You might go ape over it.

The Forking Truth