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mackerel, spring onion & dill fishcakes: cooking with john west.


since their very first sea voyage in 1857, scotland founded john west have been catching, canning and being creative with seafood for many, many years. a well known household name, the brand ethos has always been about bringing the best quality canned wild fish to the everyday tables of britain. in the last few weeks i've been experimenting with the latest steamed fish, lunch pots and new flavours that john west had to offer. here's how i got on...


this is the fantastic selection the lovely guys over at john west sent. there's a few of their new steam pots in there as well as their premium steamed fillets and tuna flavour infusions in chilli, basil, lemon, soy & ginger and coriander & cumin. on the website, they also have some fab looking spreadable pots as well as season and stir tandoori and sweet and sour flavours. 

first and foremost as someone who eats seafood maybe 4-5 times a week i'm a huge advocate of sustainable fishing, which i've always been pleased to hear john west adhere to. you can even discover the story behind the very can you're using, by entering the barcode and details online. usually though, i prefer fresh fish in the purest and rawest form, being a total sushi fanatic and sashimi worshipper. 

so why tinned fish? well, it's actually brilliant for fishcake recipes, in salads and bakes, and stirred through pasta. some of my favourite recipes are mackerel, beetroot and potato salad, crab and avocado toast and nigella's very own crab, chilli and lemon linguine. for some recipes, i would only ever use canned fish, sustainable canned fish of course.

so first up i tried one of john west's own recipes; baked mackerel, spring onion & dill fishcakes. this was an easy recipe to follow with a more than tasty result. 

shopping list.
♥ one can 110g john west steamed mackerel
♥200g baking potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks and boiled
♥ 15g butter 
♥ 2 spring onions, finely sliced 
♥ handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped
♥ one egg yolk
♥ lemon and dill homemade mayonnaise to serve


step one. simply mash the potato with the butter and add in the spring onions and dill. allow to cool.


step two. stir though the mackerel and egg yolk.


step three. form into four patties and allow to chill down for at least 15 minutes. 


step four. bake for 12-15 minutes on 200 degrees c. 


step five. serve up with your favourite veg and lemon and dill mayo. i made this simply by stirring a squeeze of lemon and finely chopped dill through mayonnaise. 


a lovely fresh flavoured and wholesome recipe that can be prepared beforehand and served in under 15 minutes. i particularly love asparagus with them as i find it goes really well with fish. 

i've also been enjoying the steam pots for light weekend lunches. these come with infused tuna as well as a flavoured cous cous which the guys at john west have put together to complement one another. 


it's a great idea for those short of time and could easily be taken to work. all you do is add water to the cous cous, replace the lid to steam and then stir through your tuna. ta da!


this was the basil tuna and sun dried tomato cous cous one, which as you can imagine had a mediterranean vibe to it. i also had the soy & ginger tuna and mushroom cous cous flavour, which i was a little sceptical about at first. in truth, it actually turned out to be my favourite one. such an unusual combination which definitely mixed up the usual tuna pasta pots many people flock to come 12pm.


do you have any recipes with canned fish? perhaps a favourite fishcake flavour or and inventive packed lunch?

5 comments:

  1. These look yummy. My husband is a pescatarian so we often add tuna to fishcakes, yours look dreamy x

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I eat lots of fish so expect to see lots of seafood recipes on here :)

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  2. I don't buy tinned fish very often but I may change my mind now :)

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  3. This are looking yummy. good product...

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