Wholesome Cook
Australian

Eating fish when you don’t like it. A practical guide.

The scene unfolded just before dinner:

‘Ooh smells good, what are they?’ asked Mr Chipconnoisseur as he walked through the kitchen door. ‘Rissoles’, I smiled with a warm but an artfully sly look on my face. ‘They don’t look like rissoles…’ he added quickly. ‘They are fish rissoles’, I smiled again, this time more politely, hoping that the line of questioning would turn to something else, more insignificant. ‘Ahh.’ he grimaced and I knew there was more to come.

After a few moments he returned to the kitchen and the questionning resumed.

‘What wine should we have with dinner? White?’ he asked. ‘There’s a light red open already, we could have that’, I mumbled back. ‘Red with fish? It doesn’t really go…does it?’ Shute, what do I say, quick?! I’ve been anxious about this whole thing ever since I’ve set my mind on it for tonight. ‘It actually does with salmon’, I said under my breath. Bugger, I think he heard me! 

‘Salmon??’ The look on Mr Chipconnoisseur’s face was a mixture of fear, anxiety and, to a certain degree I think, overplayed disgust. ‘I thought you said fish!’ Exactly the reaction I’ve been trying to avoid. ‘Salmon is fish.’ I responded even more politely and smiled. Perhaps not all was lost.

‘Just try a little’, I reasoned, about to pull my biggest bargaining chip. ‘If you don’t like it I’ll get you a meat pie from the freezer to go with that red if you prefer.’ I believe I saw a slight nod to this offer so I continued to plate up the rissoles. My salmon “project” was back on track.

A quarter of an hour later, at approximately 6:45pm, the plate was starting to look clean and I got curious. ‘Are they unbearable?’ I asked with a cheeky exaggeration in my voice. ‘No, I actually like them!’ he said with a big grin on his face. I always knew he would. I was also relieved because there were no meat pies in the freezer.

The moral of the story? The flavour of the rissoles is so non-offensive that even the most fussy eaters can have a little bit of fish on a regular basis without turning up their nose.  It is a great way to enjoy the goodness of salmon (or tuna) without the overpowering taste or messing around with whole fish fillets.

Makes 6-8 patties

Salmon and corn rissoles

Canned salmon is just as good for you as the fresh stuff, and it can be a great way to enjoy some extra omega3. Corn or diced capsicum are a great addition to the patty mix – they help mask the fishy taste further and add extra nutrients to the meal. The patties themselves are beautifully crisp on the outside while oh so light and fluffy on the inside!

  • 500g brushed potatoes, peeled
  • 415g can of red salmon
  • 420g can of corn kernels
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp dill
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
  • Oil for frying

Cook potatoes in salted water until soft, mash and allow to cool.

Add egg, dill, drained corn and flaked red salmon. Mix all together and divide to make 6-8 patties. Dip each patty into breadcrumbs and shallow fry until golden crisp onthe outside. Flip and allow to crisp up on the other side.

Serve with a garden salad and wasabi mayonnaise.

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2 comments

anhsfoodblog March 1, 2011 at 10:39 am

I always love good salmon rissoles!

Reply
Heidi - Apples Under My Bed March 7, 2011 at 3:21 pm

haha this story made me laugh :) well done getting him to enjoy salmon! They look yummy!
Heidi xo

Reply

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