West Coast Ling Cod Cakes

After a weekend of chowing down some pretty heavy foods I really couldn't bring myself to eat another burger. Or heavy cheese based pasta (heaven!). Or whatever else it was that I ate and can't quite remember. HA HA - the fog of rich food gluttony. That can't be good.

So in an effort to lighten things up a bit I came up with this recipe for Lingcod Cakes. My inital pairing with this was going to be a nice winter salad. However, it occured to me that in our box from Saanich Organics this week we got some braising winter greens - so John helped to put together this dish from Epicuious: Sweet Potato, Apple Braising Greens Warm Winter Salad.

The mildness of the fish really lent itself nicely to the flavors of the dish, while the sweetness of the Cheater's Apple Mango Chutney paired well with the bitterness of the greens. It was exactly, what I wanted.

Lingcod Cakes

Ingredients:

1 Lb Lingcod Fillets.

1 Chorizo Sausage Link.

1/2 C Coconut Milk.

1/2 Small Red Onion, finely chopped.

1 Clove Garlic, finely chopped.

2 Small Celery Stalks, finely chopped.

1 Lemon, zest & juice.

1 Lime for juice.

Small Handful Parsley, chopped.

Small Handful Cilantro, chopped.

1/2 C Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs.

1 1/2 C Panko Crumbs.

2 Free-Range, Organic Egg, lightly beaten.

Kosher Salt & Fresh Cracked Black pepper.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

What to Do:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degree F. On a lightly greased piece of aluminum foil, lay your fish.

Season well with salt and pepper and top with lime juice, coconut milk, half the cilantro and half the parsley. Wrap the fish up tightly and place the parcel in the center of a baking pan (in case it leaks).

Bake for about 20 minutes, remove, and let cool slightly. Once cooled, pull fish from the parcel and crumble with your hands into fine pieces.

While your fish is cooking, heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Toss in your chorizo and cook through (about 7 minutes). If necessary, add a bit of extra-virgin olive oil to the pan and throw in the onion. Allow to soften slightly and add the garlic, celery, and lemon zest. Heat through about 5 minutes. Just before you pull it off the heat, chuck in the rest of your herbs, mix well.

Allow to cool slightly and throw the chorizo mixture into a food processor and pulse a few times to dice very finely.

Add to your fish, along with the lemon juice, some salt and pepper, 1 egg, and bread crumbs and mix well.

Now, divide mixture into 8 portions. Gently (and quickly) shape into balls in the palm of your hand, and lightly squish them into patties - set aside on a lightly greased baking tray and place in the refrigerator for about a half hour to firm up a bit.

While your lingcod is in the fridge, in 1 bowl whisk the second egg and lemon juice and in another place your panko crumbs with a little salt.

Once firm, remove the lingcod from the fridge and dredge each cake in the egg mixture and then the panko crumbs.

In your frying pan, heat 3 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Gently place your fish patties in the pan and sear on both sides until golden brown. Let drain on paper towels. Depending on the size of your pan you may need to do this in two batches.

Serve with some extra lemon, Chutney, and the braising greens. Delicious!

Eat.