Sichenyky z Ryby (січеники з риби, chopped fish patties)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •A sharp chef's knife or cleaver
• •A wide heavy frying pan
• •A fish spatula
• •A shallow bowl for breadcrumbs

Instructions

1. 1

   Soften the onion

   Warm 2 tablespoons sunflower oil in a small pan and cook the onion gently until it turns translucent, sweet-smelling, and soft enough to press with a spoon. You're not browning it. Raw onion fights the fish; softened onion becomes part of its sweetness. Scrape it onto a plate and let it cool.

2. 2

   Soak the bread

   Tear the bread into a bowl and pour over the milk or water. Let it drink, then squeeze it firmly in your fist so it is damp, not dripping. This little piece of bread is not filler. It catches the fish juices and keeps the patties tender.

3. 3

   Chop the fish

   Check the fish with your fingers for bones, then pat it very dry. Chop it with a sharp knife into small uneven pieces, some almost minced, some the size of lentils. Stop before it becomes paste. You should still be able to see fish, and the board should smell clean and faintly sweet, never sour.

4. 4

   Mix and rest

   Put the chopped fish in a bowl with the cooled onion, squeezed bread, egg, breadcrumbs, dill, salt, pepper, lemon zest if using, and smetana if you want a softer patty. Mix with your hand until it clings together when pressed, then rest it in the fridge until it firms and the smell turns rounder, onion and dill no longer separate from the fish.

   If the mixture feels loose, add a spoonful more breadcrumbs. If it feels stiff, loosen it with a spoon of smetana. The mixture should hold its shape without feeling bouncy.
5. 5

   Shape the patties

   Wet your hands and shape the mixture into oval patties, each about the size of a small plum flattened slightly. Coat lightly in breadcrumbs, pressing just enough so the crumbs hold. Don't pack them hard. A bullied fish patty eats like rubber, and nobody came to the table for that.

6. 6

   Fry until crisp

   Film a wide pan with sunflower oil and set it over medium heat. Lay in the patties with space between them and fry until the underside is deep golden and the pan's sound changes from wet sputter to a steadier crisp crackle. Turn once and cook the second side the same way. The patties should feel springy at the center, with clear juices at the edge.

7. 7

   Serve generously

   Move the sichenyky to a warm plate and scatter over a little more dill. Serve with boiled potatoes, buckwheat, smetana, and something sour from a jar: salted cucumbers, kvasheni pomidory, or a spoonful of pelustka, the beet-pink cabbage pickle whose name means petal. Hot is lovely. Cold tomorrow is not a compromise.

Chef Tips

• •Pike and zander are beautiful here, but hake, cod, pollock, or a mix of white fish works in a modern London kitchen. Cook it anyway. The old method matters more than a perfect fishmonger.
• •Hand chopping is the step that won't forgive laziness. The seasoning and shape can flex, but the coarse texture is the dish.
• •If your fish is very lean, add the optional smetana or a small spoon of soft butter to the mixture. A bit more modern, and very practical.
• •Serve with something sour. Fish loves a fermented thing beside it, especially salted cucumbers or fermented tomatoes from the loud shelf.
• •To meal prep, fry the patties just shy of fully crisp, cool them, and reheat in a pan with a little oil. The edges come back better that way than in the microwave.

Advance Preparation

• •The fish mixture can rest in the fridge for up to 12 hours before shaping. Cover it well and keep it cold.
• •Cooked patties keep for 3 days in the fridge and are good cold, or reheated gently in a pan until the edges crisp again.
• •For longer keeping, freeze shaped uncooked patties on a tray, then bag them. Fry from chilled after thawing overnight in the fridge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 195g)