I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

September 6, 2010

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?

14 comments:

  1. Looky, looky! Check out what Anna has done for me on her awesome site The Hospitality Guru! http://annajohnston.com.au/meet-the-intolerant-chef/
    Thanks Anna for putting me out there and helping share the love. Food intolerances are not the end of the world, just a new begining!

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  2. These look so good, I love salmon it is my favourite fish the only downfall is the cost.

    I only ever make these with canned salmon but I bet they taste so much nicer using fresh.

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  3. What a fantastic economical way to use salmon belly! I've been trying to be better with getting my omega 3 fix. But when we do we normally have salmon and kingfish sashimi.

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  4. I think I'd really like the salmon belly as it would be so nice and juicy with all of that fat. And I really enjoyed the article on Anna's site on you! :)

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  5. Thankyou so much for this useful post! I have never even heard of salmon belly - let alone know how to use it!!!

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  6. Wonderful recipe! We love fish cakes...thanks! :)

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  7. Oooh, great piece on Anna's blog - nice to put a name to the Intolerant Chef as well! :D

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  8. I am not a huge fan of seafood so we hardly ever eat fish! In fact the last time I tried resulted in a sulk fest from the boy! I wish we could stomach it though... it is so good for you!

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  9. Chef :) You never fail to amaze me. Salmon underbelly - I love it! Good spotting finding economical cuts like this as we do love our salmon in this house. Thanks for sharing luvvy.
    Cheers Anna

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  10. Sounds absolutely delicious! Comfort food.

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  11. We get our Omega 3 fatty acid from eating about an ounce of walnuts each day. And the occasional salmon dinner about once a week or so.

    Très magnifique et bon appétit
    CCR
    =:~)

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  12. ooo Salmon belly! Where do you get it from? Just the seafood shop? To be honest, I love fresh salmon but am reluctant to try salmon patties- they kind of turn me off a little- maybe it is because so many recipes used tinned salmon! Yours look way fresher and I may just try them- they would be great for lunches!

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  13. Hello everyone! It's lovely to see some new faces on our blog too.
    Thanks Lorraine and Ceila, I hope my write up an The Hospitality Guru is helpful for those looking for answers to intolerance issues.
    Mmmm... sashimi and walnuts.... what a yummy way to get some omega 3's- good thinking!
    Gastronomy Gal, I just ask for it at the fish shop, They don't always have it out as it's not a commonly popular part of the fishy. It may be over with the 'offcut' sections.
    Please, don't use tinned salmon for patties anymore! Buy just a wee bit of fresh, a little goes a long way!
    Happy eating lovelies!

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  14. Oh yum, these look so good! I've recently started to like salmon (I used to never like fish) and this looks like it would have such a nice blend of flavors!

    ~Aubree Cherie

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