Recipe: Pollock Fish Cakes with Sweet Chili Sauce and Lemon Avocado Garnish

When it comes to the kitchen, I'm on a never-ending journey. It's a loooong and twisting road of happy accidents, tasty discoveries, and the occasional questionable culinary experiment (sometimes, I bite off a little more than I can chew - Get it? Ha. Ha. Ha.)

Sometimes, the end result is great! Other times, not so much. I think it's because I find it so hard to stick to recipes anymore. When I didn't know much about cooking, I followed every recipe to the letter. Now that I've had some practice, I love to experiment and come up with something new. I get a little brazen, sometimes to the chagrin of my tastebuds. My boyfriend is also the unfortunate taste tester for these kitchen experiments, but this time I think I've got a real winner that would please even his picky palate. I used pollock for this recipe, but you can use any white fish. Pollock can be found in almost any supermarket's frozen seafood section. It's tasty and usually super cheap - good for a budget dinner.

I really have to give myself a pat on the back for these fish cakes. It's simple food and it tastes absolutely amazing - really! I thought it'd be neat to try a combination of different tastes so I paired them with some sweet chili sauce and a citrusy, lemon-avocado dip/garnish. It's an explosion of flavor that's sure to satisfy.

-------------------------------------------RECIPE-------------------------------------------

Time: Approx. 30 minutes

Ingredients
12 oz (3 filets) of pollock (or any white fish)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp mayo

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp cracked pepper, or to taste

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice for cakes + 1/2 tsp for avocado garnish
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 a ripe avocado

Sweet chili sauce for dipping

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil or olive oil for frying



Directions (Fish Cakes)
1. Prepare your fish according to the directions on the package. (I haven't tried to make these cakes without first cooking the fish. I imagine that it would be fine, but it's just easier to "crumble" the fish into the mix after it's all flaky and cooked.) For thawed pollock that's about 10 minutes on 425 degrees fahrenheit.

2. Once the fish are cooked (they will flake easily when done), crumble them into a medium sized bowl. Add the following: mustard, mayo, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, cayenne papper, and 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice. Mix together well. Add the panko breadcrumbs. Mix again.

3. Add toasted sesame oil or olive oil to skillet; Set heat to medium. I used 1 tbsp oil per 3 cakes.

4. Using your hands or a spoon, gather up some of the mixture and form into a ball. The size is up to your preference. Place fish cake ball in the heated skillet, then press down on it with the back of a fork or a spatula to flatten it. If the cakes fall apart a bit in the skillet, don't worry. You can just mash them back into shape using your fork or spatula.  Cook each side for about 4-5 minutes or until a light golden brown.

Directions (Lemon-Avocado Garnish/Dip)
1. Make sure that your avocado is pretty ripe. If it isn't, it'll be a little annoying to get the dip to a nice, creamy consistency (unless you feel like dirtying up a blender or food processor. I didn't, heh). Cut avocado in half. Spoon it out into a small bowl.

2. Using a fork, mash up the avocado until creamy. Add in 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice and mix together well. You can serve it with the cakes in various ways - as a garnish, a spread, or a dip. It's up to you!

Enjoy!