Brazil Nut Free Ginger-Turmeric Snapper Cakes with Carrot

Total time51 min

Prep time20 min

Cook time16 min

Brazil Nut Free Ginger-Turmeric Snapper Cakes with Carrot

These golden pan-fried fish cakes are bright, aromatic, and genuinely exciting — the kind of weeknight dinner that feels far more special than the effort involved. Fresh red snapper gets hand-chopped for real texture, then folded with grated carrot, punchy fresh ginger, and warm turmeric before hitting a coconut oil–slicked skillet until deeply golden on both sides. Squeezing the moisture out of the carrot and chilling the mixture before shaping are the two small steps that make the difference between cakes that hold together beautifully and ones that fall apart in the pan. The cool ricotta dipping sauce — stirred together with parsley and a splash of apple cider vinegar — cuts right through the warmth of the spices and makes every bite feel balanced. For anyone navigating tree nut allergies, this recipe is naturally free of the usual suspects without any substitutions or workarounds required; every ingredient here is straightforward and easy to source. It's a clean, confident dish that works just as well for a casual family dinner as it does for impressing guests.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the cakes

1 lb fresh red snapper fillets, skin removed, pin bones removed
Private Selection Frozen Wild Caught Snapper Fillets H-E-B Wild Caught Fresh American Red Snapper Fillet Snapper Fillet Wild Caught Frozen (sustainably sourced)Rogges Red Snapper
Marketside Wild Caught Snapper Fillets
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1 cup finely grated carrot (about 2 medium carrots)
2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 large egg
3 tbsp rice flour
¾ tsp fine sea salt
2 tbsp coconut oil, for frying

For the dipping sauce

½ cup fresh ricotta
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp fine sea salt

For serving

2 tbsp fresh parsley sprigs (optional)

Instructions

1
Make the dipping sauce: stir together the ricotta, parsley, apple cider vinegar, and 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl until smooth. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the cakes.
2
Pat the snapper fillets completely dry with paper towels, then finely chop them by hand into pieces no larger than 1/4 inch — do not use a food processor, as the fish should have some texture, not become a paste. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

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