I need Salmon Fishcakes more than I need Taylor Swift

I  caught my almost 3-year-old daughter singing 'shake it off, shake it off' the other day. I almost choked on my coffee. Not because she is one of the most articulate and talented 2 3/4-year-olds that I know (totally unbiased opinion of course), but most of all she is singing along to Taylor Swift! Having said, I must say though that her songs are getting (albeit annoyingly) catchier and even I caught myself humming 'shake it off' to myself while stirring risotto. Not a proud moment.

So anyway I decided to retreat to the kitchen and leave my children to their own devices for a while (dancing and singing to the radio) and stood in front of the fridge and looked at the assorted mix of leftovers and wondered what to make out of them. And saw that I had leftover baked salmon fillet and potatoes from yesterday's dinner. And thus, came up with the brilliant idea of making salmon fishcakes. And these were what I laid out on my counter :

Ingredients :

• 4 large boiled potatoes, cut into chunks and mashed
• 3-4 pieces of salmon fillets (each about the size of a smallish palm). If you don't have any, I suppose canned salmon fillets would work in the equivalent amount)
• 2 tsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 heaped tbsp chopped dill (or half a tsp of dried dill)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 small egg, beaten
• Dashes of salt and black pepper
• Sprinkling of garlic powder
• A handful of frozen or fresh peas (optional)
• Sunflower oil for pan frying 

Optional sauces for serving:

• Chilli sauce/tomato ketcup/tartar sauce
• Teriyaki sauce 

 

 So this is how we do it : 

Take everything (except the sunflower oil and sauces) and mash it into a bowl with your hands or a fork. Shape into patties (this time, you have to use your hands, I'm afraid). Pour sunflower oil into a shallow non-stick pan and when it's hot, add in the patties and cook for about 1 minute (depending on how hot your pan is) until brown, before flipping to the other side. Place on grease-proof paper and serve while still warm with steamed vegetables, a salad or cut vegetables or even fries if you are so inclined, and dipping sauces of your choice. (mine being chilli sauce, but tartar sauce works especially well too when you bite into the pickle-y pieces)

Or, the Japanese-inspired version will be to just pour Teriyaki sauce from the bottle over the salmon patties, or just as a glaze. Then serve it with steaming white jasmine or Japanese rice and a clear vegetable or miso soup.

Salmon Fishcakes with Lamb's Lettuce in Vinagrette dressing