Seeds Free Ginger-Turmeric Snapper Cakes with Carrot
These golden fish cakes are packed with bold, warming flavor — fresh red snapper hand-chopped for real texture, bright ginger, earthy turmeric, and sweet grated carrot all pressed into crispy rounds and fried in coconut oil until deeply golden. The combination is vibrant and a little unexpected, the kind of thing that looks impressive on a platter but comes together with straightforward pantry staples. For anyone navigating a seeds-free lifestyle, fish cakes can be a minefield — many recipes lean on sesame oil, tahini, or seed-based breadcrumbs as binders and flavor boosters. Here, rice flour does the binding work cleanly, and every other ingredient is naturally free of seeds without any awkward substitutions. The cool ricotta dipping sauce with parsley and apple cider vinegar is a smart counterpoint to the warm spiced cakes, creamy and tangy in all the right ways. Chilling the mixture before shaping is the small step that makes a big difference — it keeps the cakes compact and helps them release from the pan with that satisfying golden crust intact. Serve them straight from the skillet while they're still crisp and let the sauce do the rest.
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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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