Dublin Seafood Selection & Coley Fishcakes

My love of seafood only developed in recent years.

 

Prior to that, the closest I came to the delights of the sea came battered from the local chip shop.

 

But it was a trip to Fishy Fishy in Kinsale and the taste of my first oyster which really began to braoden my horizons. If you're ever in that neck of the woods, I highly reccomend a visit.

 

Since then, there are few sea creatures that I don't find delcious (vegetarians, I suggest you stop reading now).

 

Despite the fact Ireland has a plentiful supply of seafood of the highest quality, offerings for locals used to be quite limited. Unless you were willing to pay an arm and a leg. In particular, the city centre was a piriah of fresh seafood. Not anymore.

 

Fish Shack has been operating in Dún Laoghaire with great success for the last while. They have a van parked on the East Pier and a more sit-in place further down, a stones throw from Teddy's.

 

But I happily discovered last week that they now have a shop on Paliament Street in town.

 

Their menu changes daily, as it should when serving fresh seafood, beind dependant on what is caught. Simply cooked. the flavours are allowed to mellow with appropriate accompaniment. They are a fantastic addition to town.

Just around the corner on Dame Street is Beshoff's. A long time institution, they are now serving a more varied menu than the standard fish and chips fare.

Seafood selections and fresh mussells are just some of the options are their table-service place and very helpfully come with full calorie information on your food.

If you're looking for some top quality lobster rolls, Klaw, just around the corner in Temple Bar, will see you right.

Importing the New England approach to crab shack dining, their space is small but their food is immense. They do wonderful things with crab, mussels and oysters.


The Fish Shop on Queen Street in Dublin initially began as a pop-up, but it has become a permanent feature in the freshly buzzing Smithfield area. Their space is small but their servings are not; in particular, their Surf & Turf. They also do great weekday lunch specials.

If however you prefer to whip something up at home yourself, it's never been easier. If you're unable to get to a fishmongers (which, lets face it, most of us don't have the time or geographical location that makes this easy), plenty of supermarkets are providing great selections of fresh fish.

If you're unsure of where to start, seafood mixes are ideal for fish pies and chowders. Once you'e built up a bit of confidence, I highly encourage you to branch out and try Smoked Rainbow Trout from Burren Smokehouse which is thankfully, now wildly available at Tesco's.

But for straightforward simplicity to please a crowd, you can't best fish cakes. In particular, my Coley Cakes.

Coley is very similar to cod in texture and flavour, but it hasn't been over-fished to the same extent as cod - plus, it's normally slightly cheaper, which is a win.

I absolutely love making fish cakes. They're quick and comforting and can be tweaked for the seasons with the use of herbs and seasoning.

 

 

As a result, whenever I'm making mashed potato, I normally make a bit more than I'll initially need so I can then make my Coley Cakes the next time my tummy rumbles.

There are a few steps to making them, but it's completely worth the effort and if you have young children, it's a great way to get them involved with making food and getting their hands a little dirty.

I usually serve mine with a fresh side salad or, as I did in the above picture, with a rice and veg mix with some garlic mayo squeezed over.

If you're not going to eat them right away, they freeze very well once they're cooled. Simply pop them in the oven for 10 minutes at 180 to re-heat.

Xoxo

 

 



COLEY FISHCAKES

Makes 8-10 large fishcakes
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees

600g mashed potato
300g fresh smoked coley
4 large eggs, beaten well
600g fresh breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons of Hellmann's Japanese Fish Marinade
Fresh lime

- Cook coley in a heated pan for 5 minutes on each side until the fish is opaque and foaming. Don't worry if it breaks up, it needs to be flaked for the cakes.
- In a bowl, put in your leftover mash. If it is still cold, add a knob of butter and give it another mash to loosen and ensure it is lump free. Then, flake in coley and add in fish marinade and stir to combine. Using your hands, take a handful of the mash mix and form into a medium sized ball. Dip into beaten eggs and shake off excess before dipping into breadcrumbs, throughly coating the mash. Place to one side on a lightly greased oven tray.
- Repeat until all the mash has been used. Using the back of a spatuala, flatten the coley balls into a patty shape, leaving some space so that one is not touching the other. Bake in oven for 35 minutes or until coating is golden brown.
- Remove from oven, slice lime in half and squeeze juice over the coley cakes. Serve with a side salad or savoury rice.