Fish Cakes

Old-Fashioned Nova Scotia Salt Cod Fish Cakes
This recipe, using a half pound of salt fish, makes 8 to 10 fish cakes but it may easily be doubled for 16 to 20 fish cakes. Cook as many as you wish and freeze the rest or cook all and freeze the leftovers for reheating on another day. Serve with vegetables. The above plate includes peas and corn as well Chow Chow, an old Nova Scotia pickle favorite made from green tomatoes and onions.
1/2 lb (about 220 g) salt cod
5 medium potatoes, pared and cut into chunks (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon seafood seasoning (optional)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
Method: Cut fish into pieces and put in a saucepan. Cover with water and heat until foam comes to top but do not boil; drain. Repeat two more times. Use potato masher to break fish into fine pieces; transfer fish to a bowl and set aside.
Using same pan, add potatoes and water to cover; cook until tender; drain and mash. Add butter, sugar, seasonings, onion and egg, mashing well.
Add fish, and mash until mixture is well blended.
Form into cakes. Note: an ice cream scoop used as a measure makes a good size fish cake.
Heat butter in cast iron or other frypan. Fry until brown on one side; turn and fry until brown on the other side.

(Photo above by Mary Mouzar)

Baked Haddock Fillets

Enjoy Fresh Nova Scotia Baked Haddock
Living along the Nova Scotia coast means having freshly caught fish delivered to the door, or available from within a short drive to the nearest public market where it is brought from one of the nearby ports. Liverpool's market has a vendor offering a variety of fish every Saturday morning from spring to late autumn.
Here is a simple and tasty way to enjoy fresh haddock fillets. The recipe uses one pound of fish but it could be easily doubled.

Baked Haddock Fillets
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, sliced (about a 1/2 cup)
1 lb fresh or thawed haddock fillets
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup bread crumbs (homemade bread is best for crumbs)
1/4 teaspoon summer savory
Method:
Saute onion in butter.
Arrange fish in buttered baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with half the crumbs, the sauteed onion, then remaining half of crumbs.
Sprinkle with summer savory.
Bake in 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 20 minutes.

Classic Nova Scotia Lobster Chowder

Goose Hills Lobster Chowder
As I write, several lobster fishing vessels are checking lines of traps here on Port Mouton Bay in Nova Scotia, Canada. The season will be over in about eight weeks. Also happening in our area are the 250th anniversary celebrations of the founding of Liverpool. For the 200th anniversary of Liverpool in 1959, special projects included the Perkins' Hearth Cookbook which contained the following recipe called Goose Hills Lobster Chowder, attributed to well-known citizen, the late Henry Hensey.
1 pound potatoes, diced
1/4 pound onions, minced
1/4 pound butter
10 pounds cooked lobster in shell, or 2 pounds lobster meat, cut into small pieces
1 1/2 quarts milk
1/2 tin evaporated milk
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Put butter and lobster in a frypan and simmer gently until butter is orange in colour. Put potato and onion in pot with enough water to cover and cook until potato is fork tender, then add milk, sugar, lobster, salt and pepper.