Salmon fishcakes with lemony crème fraîche and a green salad

Serves - 4

You’ll need

• 500g floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, peeled and cut into chunks
• 300g salmon fillet
• 1 bay leaf
• 150ml milk
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• Small handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 egg, beaten
• 75g plain flour
• 100g breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

For the lemony crème fraîche
• 150g crème fraîche
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Small handful chives, finely chopped
• Black pepper

For the green salad
• 1 bag mixed salad leaves
• 1 small cucumber, sliced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Sea salt
• Black pepper

Method

1. Cook the potatoes

Put the potatoes into a pan of well-salted cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 15–20 minutes, or until tender, then drain well and leave them to steam dry for a few minutes. Wet potatoes make for miserable fishcakes, so this bit is worth it.

2. Poach the salmon

While the potatoes cook, put the salmon into a small saucepan with the milk and bay leaf. Bring it up to a very gentle simmer, then cook for 4–5 minutes until just done. Lift the salmon out onto a plate and leave it to cool slightly, then flake it into large pieces, discarding any skin.

3. Make the fishcake mixture

Mash the potatoes roughly in a large bowl – not until smooth, just enough to bring them together. Add the flaked salmon, spring onions, parsley, lemon zest and Dijon mustard. Season with salt and black pepper, then fold everything together gently. You want a bit of texture, not a pink paste.

4. Shape and coat the fishcakes

Divide the mixture into 8 even portions and shape into patties. Put the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs into 3 separate bowls, then coat each fishcake first in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Set them on a tray once done. A little patience here gives you a far better crust later.

5. Make the lemony crème fraîche

Mix the crème fraîche with the lemon juice, chopped chives and a good grind of black pepper. Give it a taste – it should be cool, sharp and useful, not merely decorative.

6. Cook the fishcakes

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the fishcakes for 4–5 minutes on each side until golden and crisp. Do this in batches if you need to. Overcrowding the pan is a very reliable way to undo your good work.

7. Toss the salad

While the fishcakes cook, toss the salad leaves and cucumber with the olive oil, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Keep it simple and fresh.

8. Serve

Serve the fishcakes hot with a spoonful of the lemony crème fraîche and the green salad alongside. Very good for lunch, very good for supper, and even better when everyone turns up hungry.

A couple of helpful notes

- You can use cooked salmon if you have some to hand, which makes this even quicker to pull together.
- Chilling the shaped fishcakes for 20 minutes before coating helps them firm up nicely if the mixture feels a little soft.
- A few capers stirred into the crème fraîche would not hurt at all if you want a slightly sharper finish.