Spicy Quinoa Corn & Fish Cakes

Nutty quinoa and sweet corn pair up with leftover fish to make a delectable crunchy crusted appetizer, light dinner, or salad topper that will make your taste buds sing!

If you ever find yourself with a bunch of leftover fish on hand, turn them into delightful fish cakes (think crab cakes, but in fish form!) by shredding the fish and mixing it up with sweet corn, quinoa, and a bit of jalapeno, for   bit of a kick!

Also they’re totally customizable. Baked or fried fish would both be lovely. Leftover shrimp or crab? Throw them in along. Salmon? Oh yes, do it! Not into spice? Tone down (or leave out) the jalapeno.

I made these fish cakes after my family gifted me a HUGE amount of sunfish that all needed cooking up ASAP. I’d brought home extra for the neighbor and they declined my offer. So that meant I needed to either freezer or cook the rest of the fish. I opted to cook them. I tossed a good breading on them and put them in the oven and they turned out SO good.  But one person can only eat so many fish before you want something different, and that’s when I thought to make them into quinoa corn & fish cakes.

This recipe brought back memories of a favorite restaurant in Albuquerque, NM that had the most amazing crab cakes .. I have so many fond memories of that place! The crab cakes were amazing. I don’t quite even recall what made them so special. But these tasted just as good … so this was when I realized: a “crab cake” doesn’t HAVE to be made with crab. Fish (or other seafood of choice) would work too! In fact, I kinda really want to try this again but with shrimp and/or crab in addition to the fish.

Choose your own preference for a dipping sauce. Plain old tartar sauce would do, if that’s your thing … personally, I slathered on my harissa aoili. I’ve included a whole bunch of other dipping sauce ideas for you below …they are ALL easy and delish. Choose whatever sauce you think is just right for your tastes.

Suggestions for dipping sauces:

• Harissa Aioli (my personal top choice)
• Sriracha Ranch
• Sundried tomato ranch
• Cilantro almond pesto mixed with some yogurt
• Tzatziki (a Greek cucumber yogurt sauce)
• Sweet carrot ginger salad dressing
• Avocado cilantro lime salad dressing
• Japanese Yum Yum Sauce
• Creole Remoulade
• Pineapple Voodoo Sauce

I used avocado oil for the pan-frying because it has a high smoke point. It worked really nicely. You don’t need much oil to get a nice crunchy edge on your quinoa corn & fish cakes.

Spicy Quinoa Corn & Fish Cakes

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 6 - 8 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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• 2 cups chopped leftover breaded fish (from baked or fried)
• 1 cup frozen sweet corn
• 3 green onions, with tops, chopped
• 4 mini sweet peppers, chopped – or 1/2 of a large red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 – 3 teaspoons chopped jalapeno
• 1 egg
• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• About 1 cup panko or crushed rice chex cereal
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
• For cooking: 2 – 3 Tablespoons avocado oil

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Instructions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, use a fork to flake and break up the fish. Remove any bones you find. Stir in the rest of the ingredients until well mixed.
2. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add 1 Tablespoon of avocado oil. Form some of the mixture into patties with your hands and set gently in the pan. Cook until crisp and golden brown on the bottom, then carefully flip with a spatula and cook until the other side is golden brown.
3. Remove the cooked corn & fish cakes from the pan to a plate, add a bit more oil to the pan and continue cooking until the cakes are done. Serve hot with your choice of dipping sauce.

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Notes

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2019, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 - 3 fish cakes