If Kingfish is the king of fishes, then this dish is the king of fishcakes.
And I was just so happy when I wandered into our local fish shop last week to see Kingfish taking pride of place in the cabinet. This is the first time I’ve had the joy of cooking Kingfish without experiencing the even more joyful act of catching it, so I wanted to honour this gift from the sea in a very special way. So here it is…
Succulent Kingfish encased in a golden crunch crust and topped off with a very tasty mayo and juicy roast veg salad.
Thank you, Kingfish. You are my number one favourite. Closely followed by flounder.
THE KINGFISH CAKE
600 g Kingfish fillet or firm fleshed fish chopped into hunks
3 cloves garlic
Juice and zest 1½ lemons
Large handful coriander leaves
½ t salt or more if you like it saltier
Fresh chilli to taste
1 large egg
THE CRUST
2 T flour
1 large beaten egg
½ c panko breadcrumbs
4 T olive oil
TO SERVE
2 fresh whole radishes, sliced very finely
THE MAYONAISE
¾ c good mayonnaise
½ t saffron threads
1 T boiling water
2 T sesame oil
ROAST VEGES
2 medium golden beets
12 radishes
3 star anise
3 T olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T coconut sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste
½ c red sauerkraut
250 g green cherry tomatoes
2 T Balsamic glaze (optional)
THE CAKE
In your food processer blend garlic, lemon zest and juice, coriander leaves, salt, chilli and egg to a fine slurry.
Add the fish and pulse till combined. You don’t want to turn it all into slush. There should be small hunks of fish in the mix.
Line a dinner plate with baking paper, put the fish mix into the middle and form into an evenly round fish cake that is about ¾ inch thick and smaller than the inside of your Ironclad Pan.
Sprinkle the top and sides with one tablespoon of flour and rub in evenly.
Using a pastry brush, brush half the egg evenly over the flour.
Finish off with an even sprinkling of breadcrumbs and push them gently into the cake.
Place a sheet of baking paper on top of the fish cake then take another plate, gently lay it on top of the cake and flip the two plates so that you expose the non-crumbed side of the cake.
Repeat the flour, egg and breadcrumb technique on this side.
You should now have a perfectly round crumbed Kingfish cake!
Chill the fish cake as you make the roast veg and mayonnaise.
THE MAYONNAISE
In a cup pour boiling water over the saffron threads and leave to infuse for 5 minutes.
Add the mayonnaise and sesame oil, stir well and that’s that! Chill. (Not you. The mayonnaise)
THE VEGES
Leaving the tails and greens attached, slice radishes in half lengthwise and chop golden beet into chips.
Massage oil, vinegar, sugar and salt into the vegetables and roast with the star anise for 20 minutes at 200°C.
Remove from oven and gently mix in the sauerkraut and halved cherry tomatoes. Check for seasoning. Would a squirt of balsamic glaze make it even tastier?
Arrange on a chopping board or serving dish and serve hot, warm or cold. Delicious every which way.
THE FISH CAKE FRY UP
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in your Ironclad Pan over a medium heat till shimmery but not smoky. Turn the heat down a little.
Pick the fish cake up in the brown paper, dust of any excess breadcrumbs and carefully tip/slide into the pan. Fry for 3 – 4 minutes or till the bottom is brown and crunchy.
Add 2 more tablespoons of oil to the outside of the pan and using two fish slices, carefully flip the cake and fry for another 3 – 4 minutes till brown and crunchy on the underside. Don’t over-cook as the cake will continue to cook when you take it off the heat.
TO SERVE
Arrange the sliced radishes on top of the cake in a petal shape, starting on the outside and working into the middle.
Pipe the mayonnaise onto the top of fish cake in diagonal lines and sprinkle with herbs of your choice.
Serve with lashings of extra mayonnaise, the roast vegetable salad and a crisp glass of your favourite white wine.
