Dan’s Salt Cod Fish Cakes

Serves 5 You will need:

• 300g cod

• Maldon sea salt

• 50g butter

• 2 finely diced shallots

• 1 stick of celery, finely diced

• ½ bulb of fennel, finely diced • Dash of olive oil

• 100ml white wine

• 1 tablespoon chives, finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon dill, finely chopped • 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

• Zest of 1 lemon

• Potatoes (you will need 100g of mash)

• Flour, for rolling the fish cakes • Beaten egg, for rolling the fishcakes

• Japanese panko breadcrumbs

1 Place the cod on a tray and salt it generously with the sea salt. Leave it for one hour. After an hour, rinse the cod under a cold tap, pat it dry with kitchen paper and leave it in the fridge.

2 Heat a medium-sized saucepan over a medium heat. Melt the butter, then add the finely diced shallots, the finely diced celery and the finely diced fennel, and sweat them off, then slowly add a dash of olive oil until the vegetables become soft.

3 Turn up the heat for one minute, then add the white wine and reduce it until it’s nearly gone. Add the cod, being careful not to overcook.

4 Strain everything through a colander into a bowl. Pour this liquid into a separate saucepan, and reduce it by half. Combine the fish and vegetable mixture with the reduced liquid, and add the finely chopped chives, the finely chopped dill, the finely chopped parsley and the lemon zest. Season with sea salt. Set aside.

5 Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked, then mash with a potato ricer. Combine 100g of mash with the fish mixture you set aside, and portion it into 80g balls, flattening them slightly. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

6 Remove the fish cakes from the fridge, then roll each one first in the flour, then in the beaten egg, and then in the panko breadcrumbs, until each fish cake is completely covered. Deep-fry them in vegetable oil heated to 180°C, 350°F. Cook them until they are golden brown.