Fish cakes are a great way to stretch your striper, cod, fluke and sea bass left-overs. Sea robins are another tasty choice that works well with this simple recipe.

Recipes for stripers, cod and other white-fleshed fish are easy to come by but what’s to do with all the leftovers? We serve up fish cakes at the Schlichter house. These make for an easy follow-up meal and freeze especially well. For a super treat that’s really something different, top each pattie with a little dab of pepper jelly and serve with delicious and crunchy North Fork Potato Chips.

Prep Time: 45 minutes.

Servings: Makes 12 patties.

Ingredients:

6 to 8 medium sized potatoes

4 cups seasoned breadcrumbs

1 egg

½-pound pre-cooked fish (striped bass, cod, fluke, sea bass, etc.)

4 tablespoons butter or margarine

½- teaspoon dill

¼ teaspoon garlic

¼-teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 dash Tabasco sauce

Paprika

Preparation:

1. Peel, chop and boil potatoes until fully cooked.
2. Add 2 tablespoons butter to potatoes and mash until smooth. Allow potatoes to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine 3 cups breadcrumbs, 1 egg, onion, seasonings and olive oil. Mix thoroughly.
4. Crumple in pre-cooked fish.
5. Using hands, knead together until mixture is smooth and fish have flaked into small slivers.
6. Add potatoes and knead entire mixture again until consistent. Mixture should be moist but not wet (add more breadcrumbs, an additional egg or a slight amount of clam juice, if necessary).
7. On a plate, spread out remaining breadcrumbs. Scoop up a palm full of mixture and form into a pattie, ½-inch thick by 2-inch diameter.
8. Press pattie into breadcrumbs to coat; flip and press opposite side. Arrange several patties on a baking sheet (spray sheet with Pam).
9. Bake in pre-heated oven for 10 to 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Flip each pattie after 6 minutes.
10. After flipping, sprinkle each pattie with paprika and add a single, tiny pat of butter or margarine.
11. Serve with lemon wedges and tartar or cocktail sauce.

These fish cakes make a great lunch for kids when covered with a slice of melted cheese and served on a bun. You can also substitute leftover mashed potatoes for the boiled ones, which makes for a much quicker left-over dinner.