Fish Cake

fish cake

My mother insisted on feeding us fish once a week when I was little, but my brother didn’t eat fish in any form. Frustrated after trying so many recipes and failing to get him to eat fish, my mother asked our neighbor, one of her best friends, who gave her this recipe to try. My little brother looked at them and decided they looked yummy, and had a few not knowing ย that he was eating fish!

My daughter had the same problem with her baby boy, so I followed mother’s trick and made this fish cake and guess what? It worked like a charm; there’s nothing like your parents wisdom sometimes. If you have the same problem, try out this recipe and let me know if it worked out for you too.

Ingredients:

  • 500 grams fillet fish ( I used hammour/grouper; use what you prefer)
  • 2 medium size, boiled potatoes
  • 1 medium size onion, finely chopped
  • 1 red capsicum, finely diced
  • 2 leaves fennel, chopped
  • zest of one lemon
  • 2 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • one cup canola oil for frying

Preparation:

  • Preheat the oven to 180 C
  • Place the fish in a tray with a pinch of salt and a dash of pepper until cooked
  • In the meantime heat the olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion until slightly colored
  • Mash the potatoes, mix with fennel, capsicum, onion
  • When the fish is grilled, chop it in small pieces and add it to the potato mixture, season with salt and pepper and add the lemon zest
  • Place the beaten eggs in a plate, and the breadcrumbs in another one
  • Make small balls from the fish mixture and flatten it with your hand, dip it in the eggs and then roll it in the breadcrumbs, until all the quantities are finished
  • Heat the canola oil and fry the fish caked until golden for few minutes, then turn them on the other side too

ET VOILA… C’EST TOUT! BON APPETIT ๐Ÿ™‚

Lebanese Macaroon

The Lebanese Macaroon is very different from the French one. For one thing, the French Macaroons are made from almond powder, egg whites and sugar whereas the Lebanese ones are made out of semolina, oil and some spices. Also, the French Macaroon is baked in the oven while the Lebanese variation is fried in oil. It’s a very indulgent dessert, with a high amount of sugar (how much sugar syrup you add is up to you.) I’ll be posting the recipe for the French Macaroons sometime in the future; you can try it then and see the difference for yourself.

When I was young, I used to help my mother to roll the dough when she made macaroons. It would make me happy to sit on the floor, shaping the dough and rolling it on a straw chair to create a pleasant texture. It maybe difficult to find a straw chairs nowadays (its not necessary to use one) so rolling the dough on a cheese grater will create a similar effect.

This is my mother’s recipe and it is unmistakably delicious. Help yourself to a wonderfully indulgent dessert ๐Ÿ™‚

Sugar Syrup Preparation:

  • Boil 2 cups of sugar in a cup of water, stirring occasionally
  • When done, add a teaspoon of lemon juice and a tablespoon of rose water
  • Keep warm until you use it in the macaroon

Macaroon Ingredients:

  • 500 grams fine semolina (3 1/2 cup)
  • 1 teaspoon of ground anise
  • 1 teaspoon dried instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 cup corn oil
  • 1 teaspoon fennel
  • warm water to form the dough, about 1 cup of water (have a bit more handy)
  • oil for frying
  • sugar syrup

Preparation:

  • Mix the semolina, fennel, anise, dried yeast, sugar and the corn oil together with one cup of water until it forms a soft dough (add only one cup at the beginning, but if you find that the dough still hard add more water little by little until the dough is soft and easy to manage)
  • Take a palm-sized roll of dough, roll it into a long shape (about one finger’s length) and roll it against the grater to give it texture
  • When you finish all the dough, deep fry them until they give a nice golden color
  • Remove from them from the oil and straight into the sugar syrup. Do this quickly so that the macaroons absorb the syrup

ET VOILA C’EST TOUT:)