Pan-Fried Snapper with a Smoked Fish Cake & Tomato Salsa

This lovely recipe is from Owen River Lodge near Nelson, in the South Island 

For the Snapper

130g – 150g snapper fillets – skin on

Make sure the fish is fresh and has no scales on the skin. With a sharp knife trim the edges and ends to make a neat rectangle piece of fish, and score the skin with small shallow cuts about 1cm apart. Remove any bones.  Pat the skin dry with a paper towel.

Season the fish on both sides with sea salt.

Heat a non-stick frying pan and add a teaspoon of oil, cook the fish skin side down until the fish is almost cooked all the way through. The colour will change from translucent to a white colour. When the fish is nearly cooked approx 4 minutes turn over and finish for 10 seconds.  Take out and serve immediately.

Smoked Fish Cake

200g smoked fish

200g new potatoes

1 onion finely diced

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon chopped coriander

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon mayonnaise

1 cup Panko Japanese breadcrumbs

Cook the new potatoes, drain and leave to cool. Dice the onion and fry off with a little oil until translucent, add the garlic and fry off for another minute. Roughly crush up the potatoes with a fork and add all the ingredients. Check for seasoning and add if needed.

Shape the mix into small patties 90g approx, and place in the fridge until cool.  In separate bowls have one with flour, one with a beaten egg and one with breadcrumbs.  Flour each one, dip in egg wash and then in the breadcrumbs.

Fry in shallow oil at 180C until golden brown.

Tomato Salsa

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

juice and zest of 1 lemon

6 tomatoes finely diced, flesh only

½ cup olives finely chopped

6 anchovies mashed up

1 garlic clove chopped

1 tablespoon capers chopped

½ bunch parsley chopped

seasoning

Plate up the fish cake, with the pan-fried snapper on top, and drizzle with the salsa. The fish cake can sit on a bed of tiny salad or cooked spinach.

(Post edited by Sue Farley) For more information on fly fishing & lodges, click here.