One of those ingredients is tinned fish.  I grew up on tinned fish and even today it’s a staple in my pantry. 

I clearly remember sardines on toast after school and today I can’t do without a couple of tins of tuna and salmon on the shelf.  Just the other night, my husband had a boys’ dinner out and I couldn’t even be bothered to make myself a sandwich.  I just drained some tuna and put it in a bowl with mayo and sriracha sauce.  Ate it with a spoon in front of the television.  Brilliant.

Two of my favourite South African chefs also has fond memories of tinned fish.  Today’s recipe is from the fabulous Errieda du Toit (of Kokkedoor fame), whose mom made these fish cakes when she was growing up.  In her recipe book, Tuistafel, she even tells of tinned meat and wine evening she had at her house once, where all the dishes were made using tinned meat and fish, with music by Afro-beat jam band Zinkplaat and a wine pairing by wine journalist Samarie Smith!  Now that sounds like my type of dinner party!  

Another South African food legend, Bertus Basson, (from Overture restaurant and judge on television’s Ultimate Braaimaster) describes what their family called Kos Kos in his recipe book, Homegrown.  It’s a dish his mother grew up with and Bertus describes it as a poor man’s Niçoise – some tomato, cucumber, lettuce, a bit of chopped onion, mayo, hard-boiled eggs and tomato pilchards.  Sounds fabulous to me.

NEXT LEVEL FISH CAKES

I’ve written before about Errieda du Toit’s book, Tuistafel.  It’s a wonderful collection of recipes, both traditional and modern, and the stories she tells alone makes this a beautiful book on any shelf – kitchen or otherwise.

One of her friends described these fish cakes as next level.  They are truly delicious but quite delicate.  Don’t be too rough with them in the pan! Also, you might want to thicken the mixture a bit with a little oats.  You won’t taste the oats, but it might otherwise be to wet and fall apart in the pan.

2 slices of bread

1 tin (400 g) pilchards, Glenryck or Lucky Star, in pickling liquid or tomato sauce

1 egg

1 small, finely chopped onion

A handful of chopped parsley, or to taste

Salt, pepper and a little nutmeg

1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Oil for shallow frying

Soak the bread in the pickling liquid or tomato sauce.  Place the fish in a mixing bowl and break it up with a fork.  Mash the bread finely and add it to the fish, along with the other ingredients.  Mix it all together.  You might want to add a little oats if it’s too wet. 

Fry the fishcakes in a pan with a bit of oil until golden brown.  Errieda says she sometimes rolls her fishcakes in a bit of polenta for a lovely crunchy coating. 

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ooOoo