Recipe: Smoked trout and potato cakes

Smoked trout and potato cakes with mustard seed aioli. Photo / Olivia Moore, That Green Olive.

If there’s a food quintessential to Taupō, it’s got to be trout.

After a successful session of fishing, my dad likes to smoke them - it’s a flavour I always remember from when I was growing up.

These fish cakes are a delicious way of using smoked fish; they’ve got a beautiful texture and are dusted in polenta which makes a lighter, crispier coating as opposed to breadcrumbs.

I’ve served them with a homemade mustard seed aioli, which has a sweet and nutty flavour. If you’ve never made aioli before, don’t be intimated - it’s very easy as long as you remember to add the oil slowly while blending. This is what makes it thicken, so don’t be tempted to pour it in all at once!

Visit Olivia’s website for more recipes: www.thatgreenolive.com.

Smoked Trout and Potato Cakes with Mustard Seed Aioli

Makes six

Smoked trout and potato cakes

• 1 thick slice of stale wholegrain bread, toasted until crisp
• 2 medium potatoes (350 grams), each quartered
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 125g smoked trout (or other smoked fish), flaked into small pieces
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup coarse polenta, for dusting

Mustard seed aioli

• 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• ½ tsp maple syrup
• ½ cup olive oil
• ½ tsp salt

Method

• Roughly break up the bread and put it in a food processor. Process until crumbs - you want them to be reasonably fine. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
• Put potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until tender. Remove from heat and drain. Allow to cool before peeling and discarding the skins. Transfer potatoes to a food processor and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for three to five minutes, stirring often, until fragrant and golden brown. Add to the food processor with the potatoes (don’t wipe out the pan - you will use it later) and blend until smooth.
• Add to the bowl with the breadcrumbs, and add trout, egg, lemon zest and salt. Mix to fully combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• Return the same frying pan you used before to a medium-high heat. Add mustard seeds and, when they begin to pop, reduce heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook for one to two minutes, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant but not burned. Transfer to a small bowl.
• Using a stick blender, blend egg yolks, lemon juice, garlic, mustard and maple syrup to combine. While blending, add oil only a few drops at a time to emulsify, then increase to a thin stream. It should take two to three minutes to add all of the oil - this will ensure it thickens. Add cooked mustard seeds and salt, and stir to distribute. Set aside in the fridge.
• Tip polenta into a shallow bowl. Using oiled hands, form six patties from the trout mixture and dust in the polenta to coat. Repeat with remaining patties.
• Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Cook patties for four to five minutes on each side, until nicely browned and crisp. You may need to cook in two batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.
• Serve hot, with generous dollops of aioli. Enjoy!