Sue’s Gluten-Free Fishcakes: Pilchards, Oats & Seeds

The most scrumptious fishcakes you will ever eat! An original recipe that all your guests will ask for. Nutritious, delicious, and cost-effective!

I don’t want to go any further in this post without saying that this fishcake recipe is not my own. It is my mom’s! During 2020, whilst in lockdown, she developed this recipe and when she visited us, it was one of the first dishes she cooked. Whilst I worked away on my computer for Tweaked Editing, she rustled up some fishcakes and we loved them! Whenever she makes them for guests, they always ask her for the recipe and now that I’ve been making them, my own guests have been sending me messages to ask for the recipe too!

My mom is the kind of person who can create the most flavour-packed dishes without having fancy ingredients in the fridge or pantry. And since her recent journey in healing her gut, she has been forced to get even more creative in the kitchen as she has cut out all the ‘poisonous’ ingredients she once cooked with.

What you will need:

Mixing bowl

Frying pan

Spatula

Ingredients for Sue’s Fishcakes

1x can pilchard

2x eggs

1x cup gluten-free oats (approximately)

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 cup grated zucchini/carrot or thinly sliced spinach (any vegetables that can be grated or finely chopped)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds (optional but recommended)

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (optional but recommended)

Salt

Pepper

Garlic & Herb seasoning (optional)

Coconut oil for cooking

How to Make Sue’s Fishcakes:

Step-1 Assemble fishcake ingredients

Grate or finely chop your vegetables and onion. This recipe is super versatile so experiment with any vegetable you have. I’ve also used leftover cooked vegetables.

Step-2 Divide the pilchard from the gravy

Open your can of pilchards and divide the gravy/sauce from the pieces of fish. *KEEP the liquid*. Put the pieces of pilchard in your mixing bowl and mash them up with a fork.

Step-3 Assembling the fishcake mixture

Add all ingredients to your mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. The mixture should be pretty moist at this stage. If it is looking a bit dry, add a few tablespoons of the pilchard gravy and mix again.

Step-4 Let the fishcake mixture rest

Cover the mixing bowl and leave the mixture to sit in your fridge for 4 – 12 hours. You want all the flavours to infuse and for the oats to absorb the moisture. If you are in a rush, you can proceed with the recipe sooner but I recommend you let the mixture sit for at least a few hours.

Step-5 Evaluate the mixture

Take the mixture out of the fridge and give it a stir, noticing if it is looking a bit dry, add some more pilchard gravy. If you have run out of gravy, add an egg and mix.

Step-6 Heat the frying pan

Use a heavy-based frying pan and set it a medium-low heat. Add a big dollop of coconut oil and let it heat up. You may need to add more coconut oil as you cook, depending on how big your batch is.

Step-7 Test the fishcake mixture

With a spoon, take a generous scoop and plop it into the palm of your hand. Using both hands, mould the mixture into a fishcake. Don’t make the fishcakes too big. Place the fishcake in the pan and cook slowly. This is a tester to see if your mixture will hold. If your fishcake falls apart, add an egg to the mixture and try again.

Step-8 Cook and serve your fishcakes

Once you’ve perfected the mixture, slowly but surely add fishcakes to the frying pan. Flip them over gently (you might need to use a spatula and spoon for this). Each side should have a crunchy exterior because of the oats and the seeds. Once cooked, place the fishcakes on kitchen toweling or old reusable kitchen cloth wipes.

You can serve your fishcakes now or …

Step-9 Freeze your fishcakes

You can freeze your fishcakes! Just place them in a freezer container. You may want to wrap them up individually, but I get a bit lazy and put them all together (not always the best choice).  IMPORTANT: Do not defrost the fishcakes first. Place them on a baking tray or in a frying pan when you want to eat them and reheat them from frozen.