makes 10-12 cakes
Ingredients:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 anchovy fillet
3 tablespoons cornichons or dill pickles, chopped
1/4 cup shallot, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, smashed or 1/3 cup green garlic, chopped
1/4 cup packed parsley leaves and stems
1 tablespoon tarragon
2 teaspoons capers
zest of 1 small lemon and 1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs, plus 1 cup for coating
2 pounds white fish such as cod, rockfish or halibut, cut into large chunks
3-6 tablespoons neutral oil such a canola or vegetable
Sorrel Cream Sauce (recipe follows)
Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor, place the mayonnaise, anchovy, pickles, shallot, garlic, parsley, tarragon, capers, lemon juice and zest, white wine vinegar, and salt. Place the lid on the bowl and pulse 5-10 times, or no large pieces of pickles or garlic remain and the herbs are small flecks. Scrape down the sides and pulse once more. Remove the lid and add the panko and fish pieces to the bowl, put the lid back on. Pulse the fish, mayo mixture and panko 10 times. The fish should be in small pieces, but not pureed. Take the lid off and give it a big stir. Put the lid back on and pulse 2-3 more times, or until there aren't any large chunks of fish. Be careful not to over pulse, you want the fish to still have large flakes and not become pasty.
Move the fish mixture to a bowl.
Place 1/2 cup of panko in the bottom of a sheet pan or baking dish. Portion and form the fish cakes into approximately 1/3 cup size balls (you should get 10-12 cakes) and place on top of the panko in the baking pan in a single layer. Flatten the slightly by pressing down with your hand and then sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup panko over the top. You can cover and refrigerate them at this point, or proceed with cooking them.
Heat 3 tablespoons of neutral oil in a large cast iron or other high sided pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the fish cakes in an even layer, being careful not to over crowd them (you may need to cook them in two batches depending on the size of your pan.)
Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the underside is turning golden brown and the cake is starting to firm up on the bottom. Flip them over and repeat on the other side until the cake is fully cooked through. Remove from the pan onto a plate and set in a warm place.
If cooking a second batch, wipe out the pan and add another 3 tablespoons of oil and repeat the cooking process.
Serve while warm with a drizzle of the sorrel cream sauce or by themselves with a squeeze of fresh lemon.
Sorrel Cream Sauce
3/4 sour cream
1/2 cup packed Sorrel leaves
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 freshly ground black pepper
Place all the ingredients in a jar or cup of an immersion blender. Blend on high with the immersion blender until smooth. Taste and add more salt or lemon juice if needed.
*Any leftover sauce can be kept in the refrigerator for 2 days. This sauce is great with eggs and crepes or on sandwiches.