Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes - for babies and toddlers

Sorry about the lack of posts this week, it's been a busy one; been working funny hours at work and our little angel is fond of somewhere between 4am and 5am being 'morning'!  Ah, I'm told it will change and I'll need a crowbar when he's a teenager.  Is it wrong to be looking forward to that?

Well I'm making him some fishcakes for lunch which is a variation on the potato cakes recipe but I've changed that much it's almost a recipe in its own right.  Also I think they're much more delicious and less effort than my other fishcake recipe.



This was inspired because I was driving back from Aldi this morning having bought some potatoes thinking "I'll make fish pie" then realised that as my little man is now having some mealtimes where he just doesn't want to be fed, fishcakes would probably work better.


All the ingredients for this are things you could have in your freezer or fridge even if you haven't ventured out to the shops recently and if you serve them with frozen peas or sweetcorn, you have a balanced meal with loads of vitamins, minerals and omega 3 without having to get out of the house!  I like those recipes.

Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes - Makes approx 18 would be ok for babies on finger foods as well as toddlers and adults

Ingredients

2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into large chunks
1 frozen salmon fillet (approx 100 - 125g)
2 blocks, approx 50g of frozen chopped spinach
50g grated extra mature cheddar

Method

Boil the potatoes in water for approx 20-25 minutes or until soft when you poke them with a knife.  Mash them using a potato ricer.

Microwave the salmon until cooked following the pack instructions (or alternatively if you have a fresh salmon fillet you could poach it until cooked.)   Leave until cool enough to handle and flake the fish, removing the skin.  Be careful for bones.  If your baby is little and not yet able to cope with lumps, mash the fish with a fork.

Microwave the spinach for approx 1 minute with a little water, in a bowl covered in cling film (saran wrap, use the type suitable for microwaves.)  Drain off any water.

Grate approx 50g cheddar.

Mix all of the ingredients together.  Form into balls the size of a walnut and squish a little.  I made them around 3cm across (just over an inch) and probably 1-1.5cm thick (around half an inch).  Line a baking tray with non stick baking paper.  Oil it with some vegetable oil and brush the top of each fishcake with oil.

Bake for 20 minutes at 200oC or until hot through and browned.

Freeze well.  Either defrost out at room temperature for no more than 2 hours or preferably defrost in a fridge for a few hours.  Reheat in a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes.  They do go a bit more brown (the photo above is a reheated batch with some sweet potatoes) but they still go down very well.

Looking for a grown up Salmon recipe?  Try my Salmon with Hollandaise sauce.