Fancy wowing your dinner party group? Try these salmon croquettes from the former global head of the Michelin restaurant and hotel guides Michael Ellis.
Serves four
Ingredients:
• 800 grams of boneless, skinless salmon with the dark park of the flesh that runs under the skin removed, cut into cubes the size of dice
• 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs or finely crushed biscuits (salty not sweet)
• 1 teaspoon of finely ground cayenne pepper
• ½ cup of finely chopped coriander
• 1 large or 2 small eggs, beaten
• 2 large lemons cut into quarters
• 500 grams of fresh spinach leaves
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 tablespoon of sunflower, canola, peanut or other cooking oil
Method:
1. In a large mixing bowl, add the salmon, which had been cut into dice sized cubes, with the breadcrumbs, and mayonnaise. Mix until blended, then sprinkle to cayenne pepper evenly over the mixture while continuing to mix, then add the beaten egg. Finally add the finely chopped cilantro and the juice of quarter of lemon. The mixture should be slightly gooey without being too liquid; add more breadcrumbs if there is excess liquid in the mixture.
2. Wash and stem the spinach, and cook quickly by steaming or in boiling water, just until the spinach has completely wilted and turned dark green. Take off the heat and keep warm in a covered bowl.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon and butter and one tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan on medium heat until the butter and oil is foaming but not smoking. Using a coffee cup as a mold, fill the coffee cup with the salmon mixture and turn over into the pan so as to create a round cake (you can do this in your hand if preferred). Once the four cakes are in the pan, turn the heat up to medium high until the cakes are sautéing briskly, for about 2 to 3 minutes. Make sure the cakes are not smoking as this means they are burning. Then turn down the heat back to medium for another 3 to 4 minutes. The cakes should start to cook through towards the middle.
4. Carefully turn the cakes over with a spatula (and fork if needed) and make sure each cake holds together in one piece. The just cooked surface should be a deep golden brown. Turn the heat to low and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes.
5. During this time, drain completely the spinach of all excess water (you can press in paper towels if needed) separate the spinach into 4 equal portions, and in your hand compress each potion to make a round disk as thin and wide a possible. Place each spinach “disk” on a plate, and either heat the plates up one by one in a microwave or place into a heated oven at 180 degrees.
6. Being careful with the heated plates, place a piece of butter the size of a grape in the middle of the spinach, and then place a salmon cake on the spinach.
7. Serve the plates with a lemon quarter to be squeezed on the salmon before eating.
This dish can be accompanied by mashed or sautéed potatoes.
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