Recipe video above. These fish koftas are like your favourite Middle Eastern lamb koftas - except made with fish. Adore the spicing! Serve with Jewelled rice pilaf for a stunning platter of food.Makes 10 to 12 koftas, serves 4 to 5.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time10 minutesmins
Resting time5 minutesmins
Total Time35 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Persian
Keyword: fish koftas, fish skewers
Servings: 10koftas
Calories: 127cal
Author: Nagi
Ingredients
500g/1 lbwhite fish fillets,skinless, cut in pieces (Note 1)
Fish & egg blitz - Place fish and egg white in a food processor. Blitz on high until smooth. (30 sec to 1 minute) A stick blender also works but it will take a bit longer.
Kofta mixture - Add onion, garlic, all the spices, salt, rice flour and parsley. Blitz on high until smooth (1 minute). Consistency should be like a paste. (Note
Feta - Remove the blade, then crumble the feta in. Aim for chunks. Mix delicately (so the feta doesn't disintegrate).
Form koftas - Use wet hands so the mixture doesn't stick. Portion the mixture into 10 - 12 (70g / 1/3 cup each), and shape into a 10cm / 4" cylinder. Thread onto skewers then slightly flatten to 1.75cm / 2/3" thick. (Note 3)
Cook - Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a large non-stick pan. Cook half the koftas for 2 minutes on each side until golden, or until the internal temperature reaches 50°C/122°F.
Rest - Remove onto a plate and cook the remaining koftas. (Internal temperature of cooked koftas will rise to 55°C/131°F).
Serve with Minted Yogurt and Jewelled rice pilaf for a stunning platter of food!
Minted yogurt
Blitz all ingredients in a tall jug just large enough to fit a stick blender. Keep refrigerated until required.
Notes
1. Fish - Most of the most common white fish fillets are great here.Great for: snapper, John dory, silver dory, barramundi, bream, tilapia, pollock, cod, emperor fish, flathead, perch, ling, bass, basa, hake, hoki, monkfish (stargazer).Avoid:
super lean fish (swordfish, tuna)
delicate fish (flounder, Dover sole)
small whole fish like sardines or mackerel
Salmon and trout will work but not convinced it's the best fish for the flavours in this recipe.Frozen fish - thaw completely, pat dry then use per recipe.2. Danish feta is a bit creamier than Greek feta which is crumblier. Greek feta will work but I'd suggest crumbling rather than cutting so the pieces meld into the fish kofta better.3. Mixture too sloppy? Can happen if you use frozen thawed fish due to excess water. Just add minimum amount of extra rice flour needed until you can form kofta shapes using wet hands. Too much flour = koftas become firmer.4. My skewers are 16.5cm / 6.5" long.5. Leftovers (cooked) will keep for 2 days in the fridge. Haven't tried freezing but instinct tells me they should be ok (because Thai fish cakes freeze fine which are made in a similar way).Make-ahead: Great one for entertaining as they can be assembled prior and are so quick to cook - they really are at their prime served freshly cooked! Assemble skewers in the morning then cook later that day. Put them in a single layer on baking paper, cover with cling wrap (or container). I don't recommend doing it the day before as the salt in the filling may draw a little too much moisture out of the fish. Freezing will make the fish too watery, I think.Nutrition per skewer (assuming 10 skewers).