Everyone seems to love crab cakes, but this poses a problem for me – they are not kosher.
Instead, I create fish cakes using ground tilapia fillets. The nice thing with ground fish is that the texture holds up very well and you don’t really need eggs to bind it or even bread crumbs within the mix – just on the outside for texture.
Here, I used them for Passover using matzah meal instead of bread crumbs – on a normal occasion they would be even more delicious if you used panko bread crumbs, or even regular seasoned bread crumbs.
No recipe here, I just used flavors I thought would taste good together and mixed them, formed cakes/patties and seared them off. It would be ideal if you could sear them in a saute pan about 5 or 6 at a time. When you are cooking for a crowd, as I did for Passover you can certainly make ahead, freeze them and then cook them in the oven at about 350 until they become golden and have just a little “give” to the touch. Most importantly you have to remember when making a big batch that you should cook off a little piece of it to make sure your seasoning is right on. If not – you didn’t just waste your time preparing 20 patties that taste like ….well, you know.
For the red pepper aioli, I just roast the red peppers over an open flame and cover them in plastic wrap so they can steam. After they cool, I peel them and puree them in my food processor with white wine vinegar, salt, a pinch of sugar and minced garlic. I just add that to mayonnaise and voila! A delicious dipping sauce for your fish cakes.
they were delicious!! Very much like crab cakes!