I told Ferdinand not to lick the puddles in the park, but he always gets in a good three laps before I can get to him, so I wasn’t surprised when he wasn’t feeling well this morning. All he has had to eat is a bite of a ginger cookie, half a piece of toast, and two potato chips. I have been following him around all day trying to tempt him, and eating everything that I make that he won’t finish.
For dinner I’m just making fish cakes. Fish cakes are good even when you’re not hungry because you can make them in miniature if you feel like it, and just eat two or three of them. I have a tiny bit of salmon left and some mashed potatoes, and I’m going to add an egg yolk, a few spoonfuls of mayonnaise, some chopped shallot, a little parsley, some garlic, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Form them into tiny little pucks and cover them with a sauce of whole milk yogurt, another bit of mayo, a spill of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, chive, and salt. Eat them with pieces of avocado and slices of tomato, and a small salad of watercress on the side.
The important thing is to cook them in your good olive oil, making sure that the pan is hot before they go in, and that you give them plenty of time on each side, so that they are a beautiful golden brown. Lift them out of the pan with a really thin spatula.
Lemon pie is really good for dessert with these, and if you have a good recipe for one, let me know, because I’m in the market for one.