Fish Food (Berkshire Eagle Column)
There are definitely people who are not fond of fish, but usually they are quite fond of Goldfish® crackers! For this week’s Berkshire Eagle column I used Goldfish® cracker crumbs in a recipe with fish and potatoes – perhaps this will make fish lovers of everyone!
GOLDEN FISH
by Elizabeth Baer
I proudly take full credit for introducing our elder granddaughter to the joys of Goldfish® crackers. (I doubt I will end up doing so for our younger granddaughter as her mom loves them and always has many bags in the house.) This means I can also claim responsibility for her first steps, as her dads told me that those first attempts were to reach some Goldfish® crackers!
Ever since I was a child, I have adored these delicious cheesy bites. But really only the original cheddar are the ones for me. The pretzel and Parmesan flavors were the only other options when I was a kid, and I never felt like they measured up. In addition to just eating them out of hand, I used to make them swim in glasses of whatever I was drinking, probably to the annoyance of my parents. No matter what rainbow-colored, flavor-blasted versions they come up with these days, the original cheddar will always be the best in my book.
When my kids were little, of course I started giving them Goldfish® as soon as I could! Once when friends were coming to visit, I asked what snack foods we should have in the house for their toddler son. One of the parents replied, “Well we don’t give him junk food like Goldfish® or anything.” Needless to say, I was taken aback. I asked various other moms I knew whether they thought Goldfish® were junk food or a healthy snack, and one wise woman replied, “Dinner.”
With this recipe, I’ve made Goldfish® part of the recipe, instead of regular breadcrumbs, in little fish balls or patties with Yukon Gold potato – Goldfish® Gold ’n Fish!
GOLDFISH® GOLD ’N FISH
Makes about 24 small fish balls or patties
INGREDIENTS:
1 Yukon Gold potato, 10-12 ounces, peeled and cut into ¾-1-inch cubes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely minced onion or shallot
1 pound white fish, such as haddock or cod
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch fresh ground pepper
2 cups Goldfish® crackers, crushed in a food processor or by hand, plus more as needed
1 egg, beaten
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a half sheet pan with heavy-duty foil.
Place the cut potato in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Swish around and drain. Repeat 1-2 more times to rinse out some of the starch. Cover again with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to keep at a lower boil, and cook until cubes can be pierced easily with a cake tester or the tip of a knife, 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the cubes.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion or shallot, salt, and pepper, and cook until soft and translucent. Add the fish and allow to cook gently, turning once, until just cooked through. Remove everything to medium bowl, including any melted butter and onion or shallot, and flake the fish.
Drain the potato and mash with a hand masher or put through a ricer. Add to the bowl with the fish. Add the beaten egg and about half the crushed Goldfish®. Mix to combine well. If it seems too wet to form into a ball or a patty, add some more Goldfish crumbs.
Place the remaining crumbs on a rimmed plate or in a shallow pan. Form the mixture into balls or patties and dredge in the Goldfish® crumbs. Place the balls or patties onto the prepared half sheet pan. If you run out of Goldfish® crumbs, crush an extra handful or two.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
These also freeze well. For freezing, allow to cool and then place the half sheet pan in the freezer. Once the fish balls are frozen, remove from the pan to a plastic bag for freezer storage.