What To Do With Kahawhai...Fish Cakes Of Course

Meeta from What’s For lunch Honey has an event called Monthly Mingle. This month Comfort Food is the Subject.
There is nothing more comforting than Fish Cakes and I have the perfect recipe...Have a look at Meeta’s site here

We were in beautiful Whangaroa still.
Kind people from the good ship Donella anchored in our bay gave us a freshly caught Kahawhai…they were inundated with fresh tuna and the Kahawhai was superfluous to their needs. Not ours though.



This fish is an oily fish and really best suited to either Sashimi and it is particularly excellent for fish cakes.
Kahawhai needs to be bled immediately when caught and the nice Donella people did that so I just had to gut and filet it
So for the fish cakes

2 large filets kahawhai about 300 gms
300 mls milk
2 bay leaves
½ onion
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt


1 large kumara (sweet potato) peeled and chunked
Other half of the onion chopped
Good knob of butter

2 eggs

2 tablespoons chopped coriander/cilantro

Japanese Panko Breadcrumbs (the best)
Olive oil and a knob of butter for frying

Poach the fish in the milk with the aromatics
Only about 5 minutes don’t overcook
Remove, flake and set aside

Meanwhile boil the kumara and onion in salted water
Drain and mash with butter and the strained milk from the fish till you get a nice wet consistency
Add eggs and fish and coriander
Test seasoning and correct if necessary

Roll into cakes and cover with the breadcrumbs

Pop into the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up
Fry in the oil and butter mixture on medium heat till golden brown.

You could make a sauce to go with these but I really like them with just a little lemon squeezed over them and a little salad on the side.
We invited Geoff and Laurian over to join us and Laurian brought the salad.
Share and share alike on boats.

Excellent philosophy.