Smoked trout fishcakes

Prep: 30 minutesCook: 25 minutes Serves: 4

In her letters, Cecilia Strickland writes about trout in the River Kent. This comforting dish, inspired by Cecilia’s life at Sizergh, pairs smoked trout with horseradish– delicious served with a crisp salad and tartare sauce.

600g potatoes, roughly chopped

2 tbsp horseradish sauce

200g smoked trout fillets, flaked

Zest and juice of a lemon, plus extra lemon to serve

100g seasoned plain flour

1 egg, beaten

175g fresh breadcrumbs

2 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

20g fresh parsley, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

Mixed salad leaves, to serve

Ingredients

1. Cook the potatoes in boiling salted water for about 10-15 minutes, until tender. Drain well, using a colander, and return to the pan to steam dry for a few minutes.

2. Next, add the horseradish, parsley and a good pinch of salt and pepper then mash until smooth. Stir in the flaked trout, lemon zest and half the juice.

3. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, make eight patty-shaped cakes and chill for 10 minutes until firmed up slightly.

4. Put the flour, egg and breadcrumbs onto three separate large plates.

5. Dip each fishcake in turn into the flour, egg and finally the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess as you go.

6. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the fishcakes for around 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden and crisp.

7. Serve alongside a handful of crisp salad leaves, a wedge of lemon and a lashing of tartare sauce.

Method

Ovens may vary - times and temperatures are as a guide only

Cecilia, mistress of Sizergh from the mid-18th century, modernised the house from a Tudor Hall into a fashionable Georgian home. You are invited to step back in time and see Sizergh through Cecilia’s eyes.

A portrait of Cecilia by renowned painter, George Romney (1734 – 1802). Image courtesy of the Museo de Belles Artes in Havana