Fish cakes with tartar sauce

Fish cakes with Tartar sauce – makes 2
These salmon fishcakes are served with home made tartar sauce which is made from mayonnaise and gherkins.

Ingredients
125g portion of salmon lightly cooked in a little milk
150g cooked, mashed potato
Salt and pepper
chopped chives or finely sliced spring onion
Flour for dusting
1 egg, beaten
some breadcrumbs or finely crushed plain crisps.
2 tablespoons oil

Method

1. Mash together the fish, potatoes, salt and pepper and stir in the chives or spring onions.
2. Shape into 2 equal sized fish cakes. Use the flour on your hands to stop sticking.
3. Brush each fish cake in beaten egg and then coat with breadcrumbs or crushed crisps
4. Fry in hot oil for 5 minutes on each side until crisp and golden.

Tartar sauce
Ingredients
2 tablespoons home made or bought mayonnaise
1 gherkin (30g) finely chopped
1 teaspoon capers finely chopped (5g)
finely chopped chives or parsley

Method
Stir all the ingredients together and taste. Add seasoning if needed.

The science bit

Egg yolk in mayonnaise is partly denatured by the whisking.
Egg yolk contains a fat called lecithin, an emulsifying agent, and as the oil is whisked in, the emulsion starts to form.
The protein molecules uncoil and surround the oil droplets.