Smoked Herring Fishcakes

By
Karin Engelbrecht
Karin Engelbrecht
Magazine editor, restaurant reviewer, and food writer who focuses on Dutch cuisine.
Learn about The Spruce Eats' Editorial Process
Updated on 10/31/19
Smoked Herring Fishcakes

Joff Lee / Getty Images

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 6 mins
Total: 16 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
406 Calories
25g Fat
34g Carbs
12g Protein
Show Full Nutrition Label Hide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 406
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 32%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 127mg 42%
Sodium 744mg 32%
Total Carbohydrate 34g 12%
Dietary Fiber 4g 13%
Protein 12g
Calcium 101mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

The Netherlands' favorite healthy snack, brined herring, can seem a little daunting to the uninitiated. Smoked herring, on the other hand, while still quintessentially Dutch, seems to appeal to more people. It must be a textural thing.

We often simply serve smoked herring on bread or crackers with our horseradish sauce. But, combine smoked herring with some leftover mashed potatoes, and you'll have fabulously flavorful fishcakes that are full of omega fatty acids. They're always a crowd-pleaser.

You could, of course, make mashed potatoes especially for this recipe (or, if you're feeling particularly lazy, grab a pack of good quality ready-made mashed potatoes from your supermarket), but we think you'll agree that this is fridge-raid food—handy for one of those occasions when you have nothing in the house but a bit of day-old mashed potatoes and a packet of smoked fish.

There's a particularly smug joy that comes from whipping up a good meal from seemingly nothing. We've used smoked herring here, but these fishcakes are just as good when made with smoked mackerel or smoked salmon.

Ingredients

  • For Fishcakes:
  • 1 cup/250 grams leftover mashed potatoes
  • 1 teaspoon flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)
  • 1 spring onion (finely sliced)
  • Pinch of paprika
  • 1 lemon
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt (to taste)
  • Pepper (to taste)
  • 3 1/2 ounces/100 grams smoked herring (flaked)
  • For Breading & Frying:
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 teaspoon butter
  • 3 teaspoon olive oil

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. In a large bowl, combine the mashed potatoes, parsley, spring onion and paprika.

  3. Using a fine grater (we like to use a Microplane grater for this), zest about 1/4 of the lemon (yellow skin only) and add the zest to the potato mixture.

  4. Break the eggs into a shallow soup bowl, whisk, and add 1 tablespoon of the eggs to the mash. Mix well.

  5. Set the rest of the eggs aside until later.

  6. Using your hands, carefully flake the herring, removing any skin or bones.

  7. Fold the flaked fish through the potato mixture.

  8. Cover a tray or large plate with plastic wrap. Form 8 evenly sized balls with the fish mixture and place on the tray, pressing gently down with the palm of your hand to form 8 fishcake patties.

  9. Cover patties with plastic wrap and rest in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (or overnight, if making ahead of time).

  10. Assemble three soup bowls: one with the leftover beaten egg from earlier in the recipe, one with flour, and one with fresh breadcrumbs (we like panko crumbs).

  11. Dredge the herring fishcakes in the flour, making sure that they are evenly coated. Shake off any excess flour.

  12. Dunk the fishcakes briefly, one by one, in the soup bowl with the beaten egg mix, allowing any excess egg to drip off.

  13. Now transfer the fishcakes, one by one, to the dish with the bread crumbs. Toss each one in the bread crumbs until it is thoroughly coated.

  14. Add butter and olive oil (you'll need about 1 tablespoon butter and 3 tablespoon olive oil) to a large frying pan and heat until the butter turns foamy.

  15. Add half of the fishcakes and cook until the bread crumbs turn golden and crispy - they'll need about 3 minutes a side.

  16. Remove the fishcakes from the frying pan and allow to drain on kitchen paper.

  17. Repeat the process with the other 4 fishcakes.

  18. Serve with baked thick-cut oven fries, salad, lemon wedges, and our fresh tarragon & garlic mayonnaise. Enjoy!

Tip

Don't overcrowd the pan. If you don't have a large frying pan, make several batches in a smaller skillet, and keep the earlier batches warm in a preheated oven.

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