Fish cake fingers

Put your aprons on and get kids cooking! These salmon and mackerel fingers will teach kids mashing, flaking and rolling skills

Prep:30 mins
Cook:40 mins

Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 371
fat 21g
saturates 3g
carbs 28g
sugars 2g
fibre 2g
protein 17g
salt 0.7g

Ingredients

800g floury potatoes
2 skinless salmon fillets (about 250g), cut into chunks
3 smoked mackerel fillets (about 140g)
zest 1 lemon, saving juice to serve
plain flour, for dusting
3 eggs
100g dried breadcrumbs
3 tbsp sunflower oil, plus more if needed
6 tbsp mayonnaise
lemon juice, from above
1 small garlic clove, chopped (optional)
200g frozen peas, cooked
few handfuls watercress

Tip

Give your fish cakes extra crunch

For really well-coated fish cakes, dip them twice in egg and breadcrumbs. However, this does make for a thicker coating that will absorb more oil while cooking.

Adding other flavours

You can gauge how adventurous your kids are and what you can add to your fish cakes; lots of flavours like different herbs, chopped capers, mild curry powder or mustard can be added as well.

Cooking from frozen

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Drizzle some olive oil over the fish cake fingers and bake for 25-30 mins, until cooked through and golden.

Method

KIDS: The writing in bold is for you GROWN-UPS: The rest is for you. Make some mash. Tip the potatoes into a pan of cold water and bring to the boil. Boil for 10 mins then lower the heat and drop in the salmon. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 3-5 mins more until the fish is cooked. Lift the fish onto a plate with a slotted spoon. Continue cooking the potatoes until soft, then drain. Tip the potatoes into a bowl and get your child to mash them.
Flake the fish. While the potatoes cook, peel away the skin from the mackerel fillets and get your child to flake the meat into a small bowl – they can taste some at this point, if they like.
Mix it all up. Add the lemon zest to the potato, and mash some more. Then add all the flaked fish and mix together well – don’t worry about breaking up the fish. If you want, divide the mix in half and add any grown-up ingredients at this stage. Leave until cool enough to handle.
Roll out into long sausages. Lightly flour a surface and crack the eggs into a dish. Get your child to whisk them while you tip the breadcrumbs into another dish. Then ask them to divide the mash into eight and roll them on the flour into long, fat cylinders.
Dip them in egg. Working methodically, roll the sausages carefully in the egg.
Coat in crunchy breadcrumbs. Once the sausages are completely coated in egg, roll them in the breadcrumbs, making sure that they are well coated. The fingers can now be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days, or frozen for 1 month. To cook from frozen, Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Drizzle some olive oil over the Fish cake fingers and bake for 25-30 mins, until cooked through and golden.
Get a grown-up to cook them. Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the fingers in batches. Sizzle them for 8-10 mins, turning regularly until completely golden, then lift them out onto kitchen paper to drain. Keep them warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.
Make a tasty sauce. While you are cooking the fingers, your child can mix the mayonnaise with the lemon juice and garlic – then get them to tip it into a small dish. Serve the fish cake fingers on a plate with the peas, watercress and some of the mayonnaise dip on the side.