New England Cod Cakes

I found this recipe in a PCC Market flyer we got in the mail a month or two ago. I love the flavors in these cakes and that they can be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator (or freezer) until you are ready to cook them. Served with a kale salad and some steamed carrots, it was a light and summery meal we all enjoyed.

Ingredients
2 T oil, divided
3 ribs celery, diced
2 T minced shallot
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp celery seeds
¾ lb mashed potatoes, cooled
2 T chopped fresh parsley
2 T stone ground mustard
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
1½ lb cod fillet, cooked and flaked
Panko bread crumbs for coating
1 T unsalted butter

Directions
Heat 1 tsp oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook celery, shallot and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in celery seeds and cook 1 minute more. Let mixture cool.

In a large bowl, combine celery mixture, potatoes, parsley, mustard, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper. Fold in flaked cod, being careful not to over mix. Form into 8 ½ inch thick patties and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Roll chilled cod cakes in bread crumbs, lightly pressing so that they stick into cakes. Heat remaining oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the cakes until golden brown on each side, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

Here's a link to the original recipe.

Cake

"It tastes like Holland"

My husband asked me to make cake the other day. Our conversation looked kinda like this:

Him: cake would be nice

Me: what kind of cake?

Him: you know, cake

Me: yah, but like chocolate cake or layer cake or something?

Him: I don't know what else it's called, we just call it cake.

Then I realized he was talking about Dutch cake and sure enough in one of my cookbooks, that's simply what it's called: cake. 

Ingredients

200g butter, room temperature

200g sugar

Insides of one vanilla bean (or 1tsp extract)

Lemon zest

Dash of salt

4 eggs, room temperature

200g flour or cake flour, sifted

Directions

Preheat oven to 320F. Grease and flour a loaf pan and set aside.

Beat butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla until it is light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing 2 minutes between each egg. Slowly add the flour and mix until the batter is smooth. Fill the loaf pan with the batter and bake for about 1 ¼ hours until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for a few minutes and then remove to a cooking rack.