My husband is a meal planner. He's not the type of person to prep everything on a Sunday so our fridge is full of containers of pre-cooked food for the week, but we do sit down and figure out what we're going to eat for dinner each night so that our weekly trip to the grocery store (which is 40 minutes away!) is totally worth it.
This weekly planning helps us know who is going to cook each night, what nights we'll rely on leftovers, and when we're going to try new recipes. But even with all this planning, sometimes we have a hard time finding inspiration for what to cook, and I'm sure we aren't the only one's out there that feel this way!
If you are feeling like you are in a rut this week, join my plan for Wednesday and make Boonville Boil Fish Cakes! Think of these like crab cakes, but with whatever white fish you can find as a cheaper option than crab. These fish cakes use Boonville Boil - our very own herby~chile spice blend made by Curio Spice Co using our Smoky Piment d'Ville and Comapeño chiles. The Curio team also wrote the fish cake recipe.
Boonville Boil Fish Cakes
Boonville Boil's herbaceous and chile forward flavors make it the perfect pair for whitefish. I'll use rock cod if our local fish market has any available and eat it with some greens and possibly a piece of toast.
- 1 ½ pounds haddock or white fish filets, bones removed
- About 30-35 saltine crackers, crushed into fine - medium sized pieces that equal 1 ¼ cup
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 clove garlic, grated or minced
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 heaping Tbsp Boonville Boil
- 2 lemons, 1 lemon sliced into wedges
- ¼ cup minced parsley
- ½ cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts
- Neutral, heat tolerant oil for frying
- Pat the fish dry with paper town and then chop filets into ½ inch chunks. Transfer the fish to a strainer and pat dry again to remove all moisture.
- In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, eggs, mustard, garlic, salt, and Boonville Boil. Add the zest of 1 lemon along with 1 tsp of its juice. Stir to combine.
- Add the fish along with crushed crackers, parsley, and scallions. Fold together until well combined. Be careful to not over-mix. You don’t want to break the fish up more.
- Gently press the mixture into a mound in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
- Fill a ½ cup measure with the chilled fish mixture and gently compact it with the heel of your hand. Tap the mixture our of the cup and into your palm. Use both hands to shape a ¾ inch thick patty. Gently tap around the edge of the patty to snug in any stray bits of fish. Set the patty on a tray and repeat to make 7-9 more patties.
- Set a cooling rack onto a rimmed sheet pan and place it next to the stove. Set a large skilled over medium heat and add enough oil to be ¼ inch deep. Heat the oil to 350° F.
- Check the oil is hot enough by dropping a pinch of the fish cake mixture into the hot oil. If tiny bubbles form quickly along the edges and the mixture floats to the surface, you are ready to fry.
- Add three to four patties into the pan - you don’t want them to be crowded. Cook without moving until the bottoms are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Use a spatula or a slotted spoon to gently turn them over. Cook until the second side is also golden brown, three more minutes.
- Transfer fish cakes to the prepared cooling rack. Continue to fry the remaining patties.
- Serve fish cakes garnished with a pinch of Boonville Boil and a side of lemon wedges
Boonville Barn on California Bountiful TV!
Last fall, the California Bountiful TV team came by the farm to learn more about the chiles we grow. The episode aired last week and you can watch the full episode here! California Bountiful is sponsored by the California Farm Bureau and tries to cover a wide array of growers and food-adjacent folks on their show!
