Fish Cakes

Fish cakes from the Caribbean are nothing like the fish or crab cakes you get in the US. They are little balls of yummy fried goodness. Fish cakes are called different things on different islands such as accra in Trinidad and codfish fritters in Jamaica. I grew up making fish cakes with my Bajan (barbadian) grandmother almost every weekend. They would be the appetizer to her famous flying fish and cou cou. She would pull out all her homemade seasoning and fiery pepper sauces she acquired on her many trips back "home" and start to put together her batter for the fish cakes. I was her little assistant and throughout the whole process I would only be visualizing me devouring all the fish cakes like cookie monster. Today my grandmother is no longer here with me but food is something I use to transport myself back in time to places I can no longer go or to people I can no longer see. My grandmother never got the chance to teach me to make her own recipe when I was older so I decided to try and make up one that would be just as good as hers. The recipe I made was so good and if granny was here today I'm sure she would be proud.

Granny's Bajan Fish Cakes

1LB Salted codfish, boiled and flaked

3cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 TBSP homemade green seasoning (recipe coming soon)

1tsp black pepper

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1 hot pepper, finely chopped

3 large eggs, beaten

4 scallion stalks, chopped

1. After salt fish has been boiled, strain and set to the side. Flake when it has cooled.

2. Put together dry ingredients in a large bowl and combine. 

3. Add in all other remaining ingredients and add enough water to make a smooth batter.

4. Cover and set to the side for an hour or refrigerate overnight.

5. When ready to use, get a frying pan and fill with enough oil to deep fry fish cakes.

6. When oil reaches 350 you can drop fishcakes by the tablespoon or with a scoop. (I used a 3oz scoop and the recipe made 20 large fish cakes)

7. Fry fish cakes until brown or about 5 minutes.

8. Drain on paper towel.

9. Serve hot and enjoy.

*** If you find that your fishcakes are a little salty, before you put the second batch to fry add in a little sugar or ketchup and it should neutralize the saltiness.