New England Fish Cakes With Herbed Tartar Sauce Recipes

ONLY IN ESSEX STEAMER CLAM CAKES WITH TRADITIONAL NEW ENGLAND TARTAR SAUCE

Steps:

• For the Clams: Over medium heat in a large pan, pour 3 tablespoons olive oil. Chop onion into large chunks and saute in oil until lightly cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the beer and the clams. Cover and cook until all of the clams are opened, about 10 to 15 minutes depending on how many you have in the pan.
• Remove pan from heat, uncover and allow to cool to the touch before shucking.
• Push the clams to the side so that there is broth visible to rinse the clams in after shucking. Remove clams from shell 1 at a time and pull off membrane that covers the neck and discard. Rinse shucked clams in broth and set aside. When all clams are shucked, drain the broth out of them by giving them a slight squeeze over the pan of broth. Chop roughly and set aside.
• For the tartar sauce: Mix all ingredients in a small bowl to serve with clam cakes. Refrigerate until serving.
• For the clam cakes: In a deep-fryer or on the stove top in a deep skillet, preheat oil to 375 degrees F.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in eggs, evaporated milk and clam broth until thoroughly mixed. Stir in clams and mix well.
• Dip a spoon into the heated oil, then take a 2 tablespoon sized scoop of the fritter mixture and carefully drop into oil. Turn the cake over when the first side is browned. Fritters should be cooked through and browned in 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with a skimmer and drain on brown paper bag. Reseason with additional salt, if desired. Serve with the tartar sauce and enjoy! If desired, serve on small plates with wedges of lemon.

NEW ENGLAND-STYLE COD AND POTATO CAKES WITH TARTAR SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 200°F. Place 2 nonstick baking sheets in oven.
• In medium saucepan, cover cod with cold water by 1 inch. Set over moderately high heat and bring to simmer. Drain and set aside to cool.
• Using box grater or food processor fitted with grating disc, coarsely grate potato and set aside in colander to drain.
• In large mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs. Whisk in flour, then add onion, celery seeds, and celery salt. Break cod into small flakes and add to bowl.
• Press potatoes to extract as much liquid as possible, then add to bowl. Season mixture with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using wooden spoon or hands, mix well, but do not overwork.
• In heavy-bottomed, 12-inch skillet over moderately high heat, heat 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter until hot but not smoking. Drop 4 scant 1/4-cup portions of batter into pan and flatten with spatula to form four 3-inch pancakes.
• Fry until bottoms are golden-brown, 4 to 5 minutes, then turn over and fry until golden-brown and crisp, an additional 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain; season immediately with salt and pepper. Keep warm on baking sheets in oven while making remaining pancakes.
• Using paper towels, carefully wipe out pan. Add 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter and fry 4 more pancakes. Repeat with remaining batter, wiping out pan and adding 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter before each batch.
• Serve pancakes hot with Tartar Sauce .

NEW ENGLAND CODFISH CAKES

Steps:

• Season fillets well with salt and pepper. Place on the rack of a steamer over boiling water. Cover and steam for 5 minutes. Remove rack and fish and let fillets cool.
• Peel potatoes and cut them into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Cover with cold water in a saucepan. Add sliced onions, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Drain potatoes well and mash them coarsely.
• When fish is cool enough to handle, flake it with a fork.
• Place potatoes in a mixing bowl. Add egg, mustard, Worcestershire sauce and grated onion. Blend very well and add fish, folding it in lightly without overmixing. Put mixture in a baking dish and chill in refrigerator.
• When mixture is thoroughly cool, shape it into 12 hamburger-size patties. Put flour in a shallow dish and dredge fish cakes in it. Shake off excess flour.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet. Fry patties for about 2 1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately. Use remaining 2 tablespoons oil if necessary. Serve with tartar sauce (see recipe).