Fish Cakes

Papa Smurf brought home a Costco-sized container of rockfish fillets.  It then became my job to figure out how to cook it.

First up was a simple coat of seasoned bread crumbs, pan fried.  Good, easy, but not really memorable.  Next, he wanted them breaded in corn meal before frying.  Not so good.  I baked them with freshly squeezed lemon juice, salt, and pepper another time, which is how I usually do salmon.  This was when we both realized that rockfish doesn't really taste good without some serious help.

With two fillets to go, I was up for anything.  The secret seemed to be adding a lot of strong flavoring.  I took a crab cake recipe and jazzed it up.  Perfect.  I had mine with lemon wedges, but Papa Smurf liked the pseudo-tartar sauce I whipped up, so I'll put that here, too.

*1 lb rockfish (or another white fish like tilapia or snapper)
2 Tb lemon juice
1 tsp kosher salt
*1/2 C bread crumbs
2 Tb mayonnaise
1 Tb chopped fresh parsley or 1 tsp parsley flakes
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
2 tsp deli mustard (or dijon)
*1 tsp white horseradish
1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
1 egg
1/4 C butter
lemon wedges and tartar sauce for serving

1.  Fill a frying pan 1" deep with water.  Add lemon juice and kosher salt and bring to a simmer.  Add fish and simmer until opaque, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, drain, and allow to cool.  (You can rinse out the pan and use it later, saving yourself 1 dish.)

2.  Flake fish into very small pieces in a bowl.  Add bread crumbs, mayo, parsley, worcestershire, mustard, horseradish, salt, and pepper.  Stir until evenly mixed.  Beat egg slightly and add to fish mixture.

3.  In a clean skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and watch to keep from scorching.  Add fish mixture in 1/4 C dollops.  Fry each patty until browned on the bottom, about 3 minutes.  Flip, press down slightly, and fry 3 minutes on other side.

4.  Serve hot, accompanied by lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

Tartar sauce

1/2 C mayonnaise
1 Tb parsley or 1 tsp parsley flakes
1 Tb sweet pickle relish
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/8 tsp salt

1.  Stir together all ingredients until evenly mixed.  Chill until ready to use.

makes 1/2 cup

Difficulty rating  :)