I scored some really nice smoked Mackerel this week at Upton Smokery – a random stop on my way back home from Oxford. I decided to use some of it for a version of these smoked mackerel croquettes with chilli jam (as far as I can tell, croquette in this case is just a fancy word for “mini fishcake”).

According to the recipe, the fishcakes are made with mackerel, potato, chilli, curry powder and lime, which then get dredged in egg and breadcrumbs, then deep fried in hot oil. I adapted it slightly, using sweet potato instead of normal potato, which proved a good match for the smoky mackerel and fragrant spices (I’m working with Mark Bittman’s homemade fragrant curry powder). Instead of deep-frying, I pan-fried the fishcakes in a cast iron skillet (following the technique given in How to cook perfect fishcakes).

I didn’t make the chilli jam, but instead used some Tracklement’s Chilli Jam that my neighbours gifted me, along with some delicious coriander and coconut chutney made at yesterday’s Gujerati Thali (leftovers for the win). The two dips were great together.

This was my first foray into fishcakes. I think I’ve always avoided them because I thought they were total grease bombs, but this experiment proved otherwise. I’m also digging this use for sweet potato – will make again!