Salmon Cakes With Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa Verde
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I grew up on salmon patties. They are a heritage recipe from the south and were traditionally made to use up leftover salmon, canned salmon and whatever else you had on hand. This recipe for Salmon Cakes With Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa is my take on this time-honored dish.
What I like about this recipe is that you’ve already made deliciously flavored salmon and now you have a way to turn it into something completely different. I use celery, peppers and corn as mix-ins, but you can easily adapt it to the season. For example, in the winter I might use roasted red peppers. You can really go with whatever you have.
Cutting the Salsa Ingredients
One of the standout elements of this recipe is the avocado salsa verde. Tomatillos make up its base. To prepare them, peel and rinse the tomatillos and then coarsely chop them using a Santoku-Style Trimmer.
The tomatillos don’t have to be cut perfectly, since they’ll be tossed into a food processor and pulsed together with other ingredients.
Rough chopped jalapeño also goes into the food processor. Chop it with a 3″ Gourmet Paring Knife. Consider using food-safe gloves when you do this to prevent any burning sensation from the pepper.
Sweet onion, cilantro, lime juice, Creole seasoning and avocado round out the rest of the salsa ingredients.
Preparing the Salmon
The salmon cakes come together pretty easily. Cooked, flaked salmon is combined with diced shallot, mini peppers and celery, chopped green onion and corn kernels.
To get evenly portioned salmon cakes, use your spoon to divide the mixture into eight sections in the bowl. Remove one portion at a time, form each into a ball and roll them in bread crumbs.
Flatten the balls into cakes about a half-inch thick.
The Salmon Cakes
These Salmon Cakes With Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa Verde are less oily than traditional salmon cakes or crab cakes because they are not deep-fried or even shallow oil-fried. They’re just lightly seared and then put in the oven to finish.
The salsa verde is a surprisingly bright counterbalance to the salmon cakes. The tomatillos offer a nice acidity to the salsa, while the creaminess of the avocado makes it something you’ll not only want to use as a topper for salmon cakes, but also a dipper for chips.
If anyone has seen my recipes before, you know I love flavor, texture and color, and this dish has it all. It is savory and slightly smoky from the Creole seasoning and gets its brightness from fresh vegetables.
Ingredients
For the avocado salsa verde:
- 1 cup coarsely chopped, husked and rinsed tomatillos
- 1 medium jalapeño pepper, stemmed, seeded and rough chopped
- 1/3 cup rough chopped white sweet onion
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, rough chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon P.S Flavor!™ Creole Kitchen seasoning or Creole seasoning of choice
- 1 large avocado, halved, peeled, pitted and rough diced
For the salmon cakes:
- 2 cups cooked and flaked Atlantic or wild caught salmon
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
- 1/4 cup finely diced shallot or sweet onion
- 1/4 cup finely diced red, yellow, and orange sweet mini-peppers
- 1/2 cup finely diced celery
- 1 ear sweet corn, cut fresh from cob (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- Juice of one lime
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon P.S. Flavor!™ Creole Kitchen seasoning or Creole seasoning of choice, plus more for garnish
- 2/3 cup, plus 1 cup panko breadcrumbs, for dusting cakes
- 1 large whole egg, plus one egg white, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup cilantro or parsley sprigs and lemon wedges, for garnish
Directions
Make the avocado salsa verde:
- Place all ingredients except avocado in food processor.
- Pulse mixture until smooth puree.
- Add diced avocado; pulse once more.
- Transfer to bowl; adjust seasoning to taste.
Make the salmon cakes:
- Combine salmon, onions, peppers, celery, corn, mustard, lime juice, cilantro, parsley, hot sauce, mayonnaise, Creole seasoning and 2/3 cup panko. Taste and adjust seasoning; add egg and mix until incorporated.
- Form mixture into 8 balls. Roll salmon balls in remaining breadcrumbs; flatten into cakes about 1/2-inch thick.
- Heat a large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat; add olive oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. Add salmon cakes and brown for 3-4 minutes per side or until golden brown. You may also sear on one side, flip, and finish by placing the skillet in a 400 F oven until done.
- When ready to serve, place salmon cakes on plate. Garnish with cilantro or parsley sprigs, lemon wedges and avocado salsa verde.
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