Loyal for a lifetime.
- At August 4, 2009
- By Molly Chester
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3
My relationship with these salmon cakes took a good bit of courting. Salmon doesn’t jump right into just any circular relationship. Not like ground beef, who shows up to every backyard bbq, tailgate and lonely weeknight pan-fry. No… You have to bat your eyes at salmon. The salmon cake requires the right balance of moisture and breading to strut it’s radiant beauty. But bored with beef, I gave salmon a call.
Given that I like to make dishes that don’t rely on whole wheat, my initial agenda was making a really delicious salmon cake sans breadcrumbs. I started with quinoa – too crumbly. And then millet – still too crumbly, but nice fluffy texture. I sighed a great big “this is taking too long” sigh and decided to play hard to get. Then one lazy day phone call, mom casually mentioned that ground flax served as the perfect binder for her meatloaf. Aha! A lightbulb went off in my head, except mine is a pink neon light shaped like a over-sized fork. Not sure why it’s pink… But, John just took me shoe shopping, and I settled on a dreamy pair of light pink New Balance. It must just be my hue. And it worked. I tossed 2 cups of millet in a quarter cup of ground flax, and those cakes stuck together like burnt rice in a pan. Okay, not quite like a burnt rice pan, more like 3-year-old Velcro. But for salmon cakes, that’s commitment. They always require a somewhat gentle touch given their independent nature. But trust me… although Salmon Cakes may be high-maintenance initially, once they commit to a recipe, those delicious beauties are loyal for a lifetime.
Click HERE for the Millet Salmon Cake with Creamy Dipping Sauce recipe…
xo – Organic Spark
celeste kellerhouse
Molly,
This looks great! I always thought that it was a no-no to heat up flax seeds, as they contain fat that shouldn't be heated to high. Do you know if that's true? It could be a health-nut urban myth?
Hmmmmm……
Molly Chester
Hi Celeste,
Thanks! These cakes are yummy – you'll dig 'em.
With regards to flax cooking temp, I poked around a bit to brush up on my thinking. Here’s what I found:
Flax oil is very sensitive and needs to be kept in the fridge.
Flax seeds/meal are a bit more stable, possibly due to the high fiber and high antioxidant content. In baking, when starting with a fresh seed/meal, it's been found to be relatively stable. (But, you should always trust your gut here.) Flax seeds/meal are used a good bit in baking, and I feel comfortable that the flax is protected within a burger, meatloaf or bread. As crust for a broiled fish or something that is highly exposed, I would skip it. Feels a bit iffy. Because a sauté is a more direct heat rather than a radiant oven, I make sure to keep the sauté to a medium heat or below.
I store both flax seeds and meal in the freezer. Flax seeds stay fresher longer than the meal, and I grind the seeds in a coffee grinder each time I need them: or at least used up within the week.
Hope that helps! You can sub chick-pea flour too, but I found it to lose a lot of the binding effect of flax meal.
Molly
Anonymous
Hello Molly
Thanks heaps for this recipe. You are right! We love these salmon cakes. Tremendous and delicious, way beyond "very good!"
Betty and Ed