Seed Oil Free Ginger-Turmeric Snapper Cakes with Carrot
These golden fish cakes are bright, aromatic, and genuinely exciting — packed with fresh red snapper, warm turmeric, punchy ginger, and sweet carrot in every bite. The whole thing comes together with coconut oil as the only cooking fat, which means you're completely clear of the refined vegetable and seed oils that sneak into so many pan-fried recipes. Rice flour binds the cakes just enough to give them a lightly crisp crust without any processed fillers, and hand-chopping the fish keeps the texture satisfyingly chunky rather than pasty. Squeezing the moisture out of the grated carrot is a small step that makes a big difference — it's what helps these hold their shape and develop that deep, golden sear. The cooling ricotta dipping sauce with parsley and apple cider vinegar is a smart counterpoint to all that warmth, creamy and tangy without any hidden additives. This is the kind of weeknight dinner that looks impressive on a platter but is genuinely straightforward to pull off, and every ingredient is exactly what it says it is.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the cakes
- 1 lb fresh red snapper fillets, skin removed, pin bones removed
- 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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