Preparation time
5-10 mins
Cooking time
25-30 mins
Serves
Makes 8 fishcakes
These child-friendly fishcakes make great finger foods for baby and you might even want some for lunch too!
by Miguel Barclay
Ingredients
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half
75g canned no-sugar or salt sweetcorn, drained
15g butter or spread
100g canned tuna in spring water, drained
2 heaped tbsp plain flour
olive oil (or your usual oil), for frying
black pepper
At 8 / 9 months babies are starting to develop a pincer grip with their thumb and index finger – so it’s the ideal time to introduce finger foods. Try giving them a choice - e.g. the fishcakes, carrots and green beans. When they pick each one up, name them and repeat the name over and over to help them learn.
Method
- Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with just-boiled water from a kettle. Boil the potatoes for 12–15 minutes until tender. Drain the potatoes, return them to the warm pan and leave to steam dry.
- While the potatoes are cooking, add the sweetcorn and butter to a small saucepan. Blend into a coarse paste using a stick blender.
- Add the sweetcorn and tuna to the drained potatoes and mash together using a potato masher or back of a fork.
- Tip the flour onto a plate and season with pepper. Dust your hands with a little flour. Divide the potato mixture into 8 equal portions and shape each one into a fishcake. Dip the fishcakes, one at a time, into the flour until dusted all over.
- Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to coat the bottom and heat over a medium heat. Carefully place the fishcakes in the pan (you may need to cook them in batches) and cook for 3 minutes on each side until crisp and golden on the outside. Drain on kitchen paper.
- Serve the fishcakes as finger food with green beans and carrots. Alternatively, coarsely mash or finely chop everything together.
Tip - if you have time, refrigerate the mixture or allow it to cool before making the fish cakes. This allows them to stick together better. Any leftover fishcakes can be frozen for up to 1 month, or kept in the fridge for a couple of days, and reheated in the oven.
Once they're a little older, children could help shape the patties. Children love messy play and learn a lot through texture and touch.
