Why it works: Fish and anchovy work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 615 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Contains: milk, wheat, fish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Cook the potatoes and fish
Cut the potatoes into chunks and place them in a saucepan with enough water to cover, adding a little salt if liked.
Heat until just about to boil.
Meanwhile, lay the fish on a plate or dish to cover the saucepan and cover it with a second plate, lid or foil.
Put the fish in the pan when the water is boiling, then reduce the heat so water does not froth over.
Cook the potatoes until tender—10–15 minutes if the chunks are fairly small.
Set the fish aside, without uncovering it.
Make the mixture
Drain and mash the potatoes, beating them well until smooth.
Mix in the butter, milk, lemon peel, parsley, and anchovy extract.
Pour any cooking juices from the fish into the potato mixture.
Flake the fish off the skin, discard any bones, and add it to the potatoes.
Mix well, adding seasoning to taste.
Shape and bake
Preheat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
Grease a quick dish or baking pan.
Use a large spoon to place the fish mixture in a mound on the prepared dish or pan, but do not flatten it until it is all mounded up.
Flatten the top of the mixture slightly, then sprinkle it with a little flour.
Use a spatula and slice to flatten the mixture into a little neat circle, about 7 inches across.
Pat the sides with the knife and the top with a slice to make the mixture even and neatly shaped, keep sprinkling with the flour to coat the outside evenly.
Trickle the oil over the fish cake and bake it for about 30 minutes, until well browned.
Cut into wedges to serve.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Fish + anchovytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together615 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Pepper + lemontop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together27,039 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Butter + milktop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together81,222 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + milktop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Potato + peppertop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together8,303 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Potatoes
- Form the soft, starchy bulk that holds the cake together when mashed.
- White fish fillet
- Provides the flaky protein that gives the cake its main texture and flavour.
- Butter
- Adds richness and moisture to the mashed potato.
- Milk
- Loosens the mashed potato, keeping it soft and smooth.
- All-purpose flour
- Dusted on the outside to help the cake brown and form a light crust.
- Oil
- Trickled over the top to encourage browning in the oven.
The step that matters
Keep the fish covered while it cooks. Covering the fish while it poaches over gentle heat keeps it moist and tender, so it does not dry out or toughen before being flaked into the mash.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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