Portuguese Fish Cakes
Chourico adds smoky depth to New England-style fish cakes
It’s no secret I have a thing for Portuguese chourico: savory, garlicky, and red with earthy-sweet paprika, these links make their way into many of my recipes (stuffed quahogs, my favorite turkey smashburgers, pierogi, and more). Chourico also goes very well with seafood, lending smokiness and richness to the saline, sweet bounty of the sea. This recipe is a homage to this pairing, coupling chourico with New England-style fish cakes and serving them with a Mozambique mayo tartar sauce.
Chourico Fish Cakes with Mozambique Tartar Sauce
Ingredients:
One 7 oz link of turkey chourico, pulsed ten times in the food processor until crumbly (or you can use loose chourico of your choice)
12 oz cod or haddock cut into a 3 inch pieces
12 oz potato, cut into 1 inch pieces (you can peel or not, your choice!) and microwaved for 2 minutes in a covered micro-wave safe dish, or until soft
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 cups panko breadcrumbs, divided
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions:
First, mash up the potatoes…
Place cooked potato pieces in a large bowl and use a potato masher to coarsely mash them. Set aside.
Next, cook the fish…
Heat the oil and butter in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add scallions garlic, salt and pepper, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the crumbled chourico and cook for 5 minutes, or until cooked through, stirring constantly. Add the fish and cook until just flaking apart, flipping half-way through, about 5 minutes total. Turn off the heat and let cool for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, prep the panko…
Place panko in plastic bag and crush using a rolling pin, until fine-crumbed. Add 1/4 cup of crushed panko bread crumbs and lightly beaten egg to the mashed potatoes, mixing gently together.
Now, add the fish-chourico mixture…
Gently fold the fish-chourico mixture into the potato mixture, making sure to keep the fish in decent-sized flakes (if you mix it too hard, it will fall apart). Set aside.
Shape the fishcakes…
Line a small sheet tray with parchment paper and place the remaining panko in a large, shallow dish. Spray a 1/3 cup measuring cup with nonstick spray and use to scoop and form patties from the fish-potato mixture. Gently pat into 1-inch thick patties, then gently place in the panko, pressing down gently and flipping to coat both sides. Place coated patties on the lined sheet tray. When finished, place in freezer for 25 minutes.
Finally, cook the fishcakes…
Place 2 Tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the fish cakes from the freezer and place in the skillet. Cook fish cakes for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Serve with Mozambique mayo mixed with 2 Tbsp of roughly chopped capers and a squeeze of lemon juice.
3 Things I’m Loving Right Now
🩳 Sweat-shorts 🩳
Yes, they are a Y2k throwback, but let me tell you, THEY HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE. As someone who runs perpetually warm, these knee-length sweat-shorts are cushy but cool, comfortable but chic (or schlubby, however you want to style them!). I have a few pairs from H&M I wear all the time, year-round.
🍚 Loaded Rice Krispy Treats 🍚
I’m not a huge fan of Rice Krispy treats, but these loaded ones (which I amped up even more by browning the butter for extra nutty yumminess) have me addicted. They’re studded with salty pretzels, chocolate and toffee bits (the recipe also calls peanuts, but I omitted them), and napped in gooey marshmallow (duh). This is a Rice Krispy treat, grown up.
🍹Margaritas🍹
HOLD UP: how is there no margarita emoji? 🤯 It’s sacrilege. Anyways, in defiance of the lack of an emoji, I want to share one of my favorite margarita recipes. It gets extra oomph from lemon and lime zest for a ultra-citrusy, quaffable cocktail. It serves 4-6, but you can double it for a larger crowd, too.