Salmon Cakes with Lemon Yogurt Dill Sauce and Crispy Salmon Skin

Recipe and Photography by Edible Phoenix

This recipe is inspired by the canned salmon croquettes of my childhood. I’d watch grown-ups having cocktail or dinner parties with these little pink cakes made with canned salmon and saltines. I was never allowed to have one until the guests had gone and I always imagined them fresh out of the oven.

Today, I’ve made my own very grown-up version with fresh salmon and not one saltine in sight.

For the Salmon Cakes

• 8 oz. salmon

• 2/3 cup + 1 1/2 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided

• 1/2 cup panko or breadcrumbs

• 1/2 small yellow onion, chopped fine

• 1 stalk celery, chopped fine

• 2 tablespoons Italian leaf parsley, chopped fine

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, fine

• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika

• Fresh ground pepper to taste

For the Lemony-Yogurt-Dill Sauce

• 1/2 cup Full-Fat Greek Yogurt

• 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, with the zest from ½ lemon

• 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite hot sauce

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, fine

• Fresh ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
For the Salmon:

Preheat oven to 300°

Rub 1 teaspoon of EVOO over the flesh and skin of the salmon and place flesh down in your baking dish

Add 2/3 cup EVOO to the baking dish

Cook the salmon for 15-17 minutes, remove from oven and allow to cool

(Once cool enough to handle, I store mine in the refrigerator until I’m ready to make the cakes)

For the Salmon Cakes:

Preheat oven to 375°

Prepare a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or non-stick spray

Remove the salmon skin from the fish and set aside

Weigh out 250 grams of prepared salmon and place in medium bowl

Add onion, celery, parsley, mustard, salt, pepper and paprika

Add egg, panko and combine

Divide into 8 cakes

On the stove, using a non-stick pan, over medium heat, warm 1 1/2 teaspoon of EVOO

Carefully place three or four patties into the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes being cautious to not overcrowd

Flip the cakes directly onto the prepared baking sheet and repeat for the remaining cakes

Place baking sheet in oven and bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden on the bottom and warm through

While the cakes are in the oven, and the stove and non-stick oven are still warm, place the salmon skin into the non-stick pan over med heat for 1 minute on each side until crispy, set aside and garnish with some sea salt and fresh ground pepper, allow to cool

Chop the salmon skin into strips or chunks for garnish

When the salmon cakes are out of the oven, plate along with a good dollop of the Lemon Yogurt Dill sauce and some of the crunchy salmon skin

For the Lemon Yogurt Dill Sauce:

In a small bowl combine all the ingredients and mix well