Ingredients

• vegetable oil for deep frying
• 225g/8oz floury potatoes
• peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley
• 1 lemon
• zest and juice
• 150g/5½oz smoked salmon
• diced
• 200g/7oz smoked haddock
• 4 soft-boiled quail's eggs
• 110g/4oz plain flour
• 2 free-range eggs
• beaten
• 110g/4oz Japanese panko breadcrumbs
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 shallots
• thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp white wine
• 1 tbsp cold water
• 225g/8oz salted butter
• cut into cubes
• 4 tbsp chopped chives
• 50g/1¾oz butter
• 250g/9oz spinach leaves
• roughly chopped

Directions

• For the fishcakes
• cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for 15 minutes
• or until tender. Drain
• then return the potatoes to the pan and heat for one minute to drive off any excess moisture. Mash the potatoes
• or pass through a potato ricer into a bowl. Set aside to cool slightly.
• Stir in the parsley
• lemon zest and juice until well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the salmon and haddock.
• Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions. Place a soft-boiled quail's egg in the centre of 4 portions and cover them with the remaining portions and shape into 4 balls.
• Half fill a large saucepan with the oil and place over a medium heat. If you're using a deep-fat fryer or have a thermometer
• heat the oil to 180C. If not
• to check the oil is at the right temperature
• drop a 2-3cm/¾-1¼in cube of bread into the hot oil. It should be golden-brown and crisp in 1 minute
• Put the flour
• beaten egg and breadcrumbs into three separate bowls.
• Dredge the fish cakes in flour
• dip in beaten egg and finally coat in the breadcrumbs. Deep fry them (in batches if necessary) for 2 minutes
• or until golden-brown.
• Remove from the fryer using a slotted spoon and place on kitchen paper to drain.
• For the chive beurre blanc
• put the shallots
• white wine vinegar and white wine into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer until reduced in volume to 2 tablespoons. Add the cold water and simmer until reduced to 1 tablespoon.
• Reduce the heat to low
• then gradually whisk in the butter
• 25g/1oz at a time
• waiting until all of the butter has melted and is incorporated into the mixture before adding more.
• Strain through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Season with salt and pepper and stir through the chives.
• For the wilted spinach
• heat a large pan and
• once hot
• add the butter and 2 tablespoons water. Once melted
• add the spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• To serve
• place the wilted spinach in the centre of the plates and put the fishcakes on top. Pour over the beurre blanc.