Learn how to make my favourite tinned salmon fish cakes with sweet potato and peas. It's an affordable, nutritious meal that uses pantry and freezer staples like canned salmon. Served with spiced aioli and a little radish celery salad or any other vegetable side you like (I also enjoy these with coleslaw or a big garden salad). These are gluten-free and can be modified to suit paleo and Whole30 diets.
Ingredients
For the fish cakes
- 1 large sweet potato peeled and cut into large cubes (about 250 g / 0.5-0.7lb.)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 450 g canned salmon 1 lb. in water and drained, large bones removed
- ½ cup red onion or white onion, about ⅓ of onion finely diced, green onions can also be used
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- ½ cup gluten-free flour there will be notes for a grain-free version + a little extra for dusting
- 2-3 tablespoons ghee coconut oil or olive oil for cooking
For the radish celery salad
- 1.5 cups radish about 1 bunch of radishes, finely diced
- 1 large celery stick finely diced into small cubes
- 2 spring onions scallions, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons orange juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
For spicy aioli
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon plain yoghurt optional, but I like to add to lighten up the sauce
- 1 small garlic clove minced or grated finely
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce or hot chili sauce
Instructions
- Cook sweet potatoes. Add cubed sweet potatoes to a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium and low and cook the potatoes for about 10 minutes, until tender when poked with a fork.
- Thaw out peas. At this stage, add the frozen peas to the pot and cook for 1 minute (for the peas to thaw out and cook briefly). Strain and cool down for 5-10 minutes in a sieve.
- Make salad. In the meantime, finely dice radish and celery and combine them with the other salad ingredients. Set aside.
- Prepare canned salmon. Strain the salmon and remove larger spine bones. You can leave the smaller bones as they will break down and mix through the batter.
- Mash vegetables. Add the cooled-down cooked sweet potatoes and peas to a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or a fork. Only mash to break the potatoes down roughly, it doesn’t have to be very smooth.
- Combine batter. Add the salmon (break it into smaller chunks as you add) and follow with the finely diced onions, salt, pepper, lemon zest and 1 whole egg. Use a spoon or even your hands, to combine the fish cakes batter until everything is evenly incorporated.
- Add flour. Finally, add the flour and mix through. The mixture consistency should be quite thick and a little denser than without the flour. You should be able to scoop a couple of tablespoons into your hands and gently mould the cakes. I usually eye measure and I think ½ cup should be enough but if it feels like you need a little more flour, please add some another 2-3 tablespoons. Dust each side lightly with extra flour and set aside on a flour-dusted plate or board.
- Pan-fry fish cakes. Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan/skillet over medium-high heat. Once it feels hot, add the fish cakes, leaving a little gap between them. Cook for 3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Once cooked, set aside covered to keep warm.
- Make aioli. In the meantime, mix the aioli ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.
- Serve the fish cakes with the salsa salad and aioli on the side.
Notes
Aioli: Sometimes I make a homemade tartare sauce by using the above aioli and adding finely diced gherkins/dill pickles and capers.
For Paleo/Whole30: Replace gluten-free flour with 1/4 cup almond meal and 1/4 cup tapioca or cassava flour. You can also use buckwheat or quinoa flour here.
Can these fish cakes be baked? Yes, line a flat tray with parchment paper and bake the fish cakes for about 15-20 minutes at 200 C/ 395 F; you can turn them over half way through.
Nutrition
Calories: 555kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 1428mg | Potassium: 912mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 12561IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 364mg | Iron: 3mg
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