Category: Fish

Indian Spiced Salmon Cakes

Indian Spiced Salmon Cakes - A Pat & A Pinch Being fortunate to live on the west coast, we eat a lot of pacific salmon. We also benefit from the wisdom of chef Vikram Vij who seems to present an endless supply of innovative ideas for local products. This is his recipe with some very minor modifications. I love my mother’s Pan Fried Salmon Cakes with Dill Sauce that I posted some time ago, but these are equally as good and are easier to make, once you have the ingredients on hand. I make them with garam masala, rather than the cumin alternative, as the spice mixture imparts a more complex flavor profile, but either would be good. If you don’t have or can’t find ajwain seeds, you can substitute a little oregano for a somewhat similar flavour.

I usually serve them on fresh greens with a light dressing and some mango chutney, but small sized ones also make an excellent appy that can be made ahead and reheated in the oven on a cookie sheet. Indian Spiced Salmon Cakes - A Pat & A Pinch 1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 egg

1 pound fresh wild salmon

1/2 pound boiled and mashed russet potato or a little more (I like it coarsely mashed to provide a little more texture to the cake)

1/4 pound boiled or microwaved then coarsely mashed yam

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup finely sliced spring onions or chopped onion

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh jalapeno peppers

1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 1/2 tablespoons garam masala or 1 tablespoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ajwain seeds

1 tablespoon salt (or less to taste)

1/2 cup canola oil for pan frying

Mango chutney to garnish

Lightly pound coriander seeds in a mortar or on a plate with a heavy spoon. (You just want to break the seeds in half.) Set aside.

Beat the egg in a small bowl. If you are using fresh salmon, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Immerse salmon and cook for five minutes. Remove from the heat, drain and allow the salmon to cool. Peel off the skin.

Thoroughly combine all ingredients except the oil in a large mixing bowl. With your hands, form round cakes about two and a half inches in diameter and three-quarters to one inch thick. Set them on a baking tray.

Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a shallow nonstick frying pan on high heat. Once the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium so the cakes don’t stick to the bottom of the pan or burn. Place two cakes in the pan and cook for two to three minutes. Turn the cakes over and cook for another two to three minutes. The cakes should be brown and crispy on both sides. Repeat, using one tablespoon of the oil for each two cakes, until all the cakes are cooked.

Serve the cakes as they are done, or keep warm on a plate in the oven. Serves 6

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Pan Fried Salmon Cakes with Dill-Mustard Sauce

Living on the west coast, good salmon is easy to come by.  For this recipe, we typically use Pink or Coho fillets as opposed to the more coveted Sockeye.  The dill-mustard sauce is an absolute must with this recipe as the two compliment each other perfectly, although we serve the sauce on the side as some of us like to take more than others.
Pan-Fried Salmon Cakes with Dill-Mustard Sauce - A Pat & A Pinch

Pan-Fried Salmon Cakes with Dill-Mustard Sauce

Salmon Cakes

1/2 kg poached salmon (boned and flaked)

1/4 c. wild rice, uncooked

1/2 c. bread crumbs

1/2 small red onion, finely chopped

2 tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped

1 tbsp. capers, finely chopped

1 tbsp. horseradish

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 large egg, beaten

1/4 cup mayonnaise

salt and pepper

3 tbsp. flour

1 tsp. paprika

butter

Dill-Mustard Sauce

2 ½ tbsp. grainy mustard

2 ½ tbsp. honey mustard

1 tbsp. white wine vinegar

1 tbsp. honey

8 tbsp. fresh dill, finely chopped

Boil the wild rice until cooked. In a large bowl, mix the salmon, wild rice, breadcrumbs, onion, dill, capers, horseradish, and lemon juice. Add and combine the beaten eggs and mayonnaise to bind. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place flour in a shallow dish and season with salt, pepper and paprika. Using your hands, form the salmon mixture into thick patties. Lightly coat each patty in the seasoned flour and refrigerate for at least half an hour ensuring that they are in a single layer or there is parchment paper between the layers.

To prepare the sauce, whisk together the mustards and incorporate the vinegar and honey. Stir in the dill and refrigerate until the meal is ready to be served.

When ready to cook the salmon cakes, melt some butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add as many patties as will comfortably fit in the pan and sauté, turning once, until golden brown on both sides (approximately 5 minutes on each side). Cooked cakes can be kept warm in the oven on a low temperature until the whole batch is ready to be served. Add more butter to the pan if needed.

Serve the cakes with the sauce. We like to serve them over a simple green salad with a light vinaigrette that does not compete with the dill-mustard sauce.

Pan-Fried Salmon Cakes with Dill-Mustard Sauce - A Pat & A Pinch

Pan-Fried Salmon Cakes with Dill-Mustard Sauce - A Pat & A Pinch

 

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Minted Lemon Pappardelle with Butter-Seared Baby Scallops

To celebrate exams being finished and having the luxury of time to cook and enjoy a proper meal, I made one of my favourite pasta recipes today. The recipe is based on a re-creation of a shrimp dish I used to enjoy at a long defunct restaurant. At this point, I don’t think that my dish bears much resemblance to the inspiration dish, other than pasta, lemon and mint. As you may have ascertained looking through my blog posts, I am a huge fan of lemon anything. Adding mint to it takes it up a notch.  The freshness of this dish is the perfect compliment to the approaching warm weather and sunshine.

Minted Lemon Pappardelle with Butter-Seared Baby Scallops - A Pat & A Pinch

Minted Lemon Pappardelle with Butter-Seared Baby Scallops - A Pat & A Pinch

Minted Lemon Pappardelle with Butter-Seared Baby Scallops

Serves: 4

1 large shallot, yielding 3 tablespoons finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup white wine

4 cups chicken stock

500 grams fresh pappardelle or linguine

5 tablespoons butter, 3 of which should be kept cold.

400 grams scallops

zest and juice of 2 or 3 large lemons (2 -3 teaspoons zest, 3 tablespoons juice, to taste)

salt and pepper, to taste

generous handful of chopped fresh mint

Saute the shallots in the olive oil in a large sauté pan or frying pan until translucent. Deglaze the pan with the wine. Add the chicken stock and lemon zest. Simmer vigorously to reduce to 1 1/2 to 2 cups of liquid. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set to the side in the sauté pan.

Drain and dry the scallops. Heat a skillet on high heat. When hot, reduce the heat to medium and add 2 tablespoons of the butter allowing it to melt and coat the surface of the skillet. Brown the scallops on one side, turn to brown the other side. Do not over cook. Remove from the pan and set to the side, reserving the browned butter.

Cook the fresh pasta as directed on the package. Drain.

Re-heat the reduced liquids in the sauté pan. Add the lemon juice and reserved butter and browned bits from the scallops to the sauce, stirring to incorporate. Taste for seasoning. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add the drained pasta, scallops and mint turning gently to marry them. Serve with a glass of crisp white wine.

Minted Lemon Pappardelle with Butter-Seared Baby Scallops - A Pat & A Pinch

I also make this pasta substituting cooked salmon or shrimp for the scallops. I increase the cold butter slightly depending on whether there are juices with oil or butter resulting from their preparation that I can incorporate into the sauce.

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