Salmon Patties

We really don't eat enough fish.

Well, I eat fish most days for breakfast. A little tin of smoky tuna, a spot of mayo and 4 rice crackers to be exact. I like to have a protein hit so I feel nice and full and aren't tempted to nibble at work.

My family though, are not big on fish. They love calamari, like octopus on the BBQ, the odd oyster or two and will have the occasional white fish, but no tinned fish no way, no how. They don't even like anchovies! I know, how is that even possible?

I love prawns, scallops, squid, ocean trout, salmon, blue eye cod.... the list goes on.

The one dish I can get my family of whingers-I mean, discerning eaters, to eat is my take on Salmon Patties.

Fresh salmon can be quite pricey for a family meal. The best buy for this dish is salmon belly. I only paid $12 kg as opposed to $32 kg for the fillet.

When the fish is processed, the prime fillets are removed and trimmed to look beautiful and have the best possible product. The belly is the flappy part under the fillet and is trimmed off as it's thinner and has a nice layer of fat. It usually still has the skin and sometimes a little fin attached. It's also quite pretty with a zebra stripiness of orange and white. It's a really good piece of meat as it stays nice and moist while cooking as the layer of fat keeps it from drying out. Yes, it does need a little preparation to clean it up, but trust me readers, it's well worth it.

Start by boiling some potatoes. You want a good ratio of potato to fish, at least 3:1Things that grow underground should always be cooked from cold water. So pop them in a pot with some and cook until mashably soft.

Meanwhile, prepare the salmon.

Remove the skin and cut around the fin. The easiest way to do this is to place the knife blade between the skin and flesh, and pull. Angle the knife ever so slightly towards the skin when pulling and the skin will come away cleanly in one piece. Chop the salmon into little cubes and place in a colander.

Chop a bunch of fragrant dill and finely chop a tablespoon of capers. Add a good dollop of horseradish cream to taste – I like a lot! I also add in the zest of a lemon and a squeeze of the juice.

When the potatoes are ready to drain, pour them over the salmon pieces. Put them and the potatoes straight into a bowl and mash away. The potatoes should go nice and smooth and it’s OK for the salmon to be a bit chunky. This pretty much cooks the salmon. I do this to as it would otherwise take ages to heat the patties enough to cook it correctly and I don’t want to wait that long or eat food that has gone tough from being overcooked.

Stir through the herby mixture and taste for seasoning. Add in an egg to help bind the mixture.
Quickly form the mix into patties. If you like a crunchy texture, you could pat them into some gfree bread crumbs, but I don’t bother.

Cook the patties in an oiled heated pan until the outsides are nice and crisp.

Serve these with a yummy salad, or steamed veggies and extra wedges of lemon. I don’t usually go for chips, as these are already potatoey enough.

The richness of the salmon works really well with the smoothness of the mashed potato, while the herbs, horseradish and capers add an acidic fresh tang that ties it all together.

So Readers, how do you get your dose of Omega 3’s?