Smoked Salmon Cakes with Blackberry Juniper Chutney
“Tl’i’ to’ mukw’ mustimuhw”
The fall in British Columbia means it is the season of the salmon run, an important yearly event for fish, wildlife, and humans. This recipe celebrates the salmon run and the foods that Salish and other Indigenous nations would eat in the region. Today, I am highlighting this indigenous-owned smoked king Salmon from Okanagan Select. This is a tin fish fit for royalty!
The Salish people would eat with the seasons, an element seldom present in our modern-day diets. In this wild terroir, the Salish foraged and hunted over 300 varieties of foods, including berries, plants, roots, nuts, seeds, seafood and animals; this complex diet helped them survive the harsh climate of the coast. The vast array of nutrients present in the local plants and fauna helped strengthen women and children to sew future generations. In our present day, most diets include only 12-20 different foods, a far cry from the original peoples of this land. How crazy is it that in the span of a hundred to even only 50 years, people have gone from eating a very complex diet, that is local, seasonal, and based on availability, to eating just a handful of foods?
Salmon can fit well with many different profiles but I wanted to do a recipe that uses Indigenous ingredients in an accessible way. With this recipe, I am paying homage to the local ingredients of the Canadian West Coast and doing a twist on the basic salmon cake. I am using traditional ingredients such as potatoes, dill, scallions and lemon then elevating with indigenous ingredients such as smoked king salmon, BC blackberries, juniper berries and macro kelp. Using ingredients from Amaranth Foods, this recipe is meant to surprise your palate but feel homey at the same time. It comes together in less than 45 minutes and is gluten-free, pescatarian and nut-free!
Smoked Salmon Cakes with Blackberry Juniper Chutney
Recipe by Tristan Guilbeault
Dietary Restrictions: Gluten-free, pescatarian, nut-free, can be made lactose and dairy-free
Total Time: 45 minutes | (Preparation): 15 minutes | (Cooking): 30 minutes
Yields: Feeds 3-4
Ingredients
Smoked Salmon Cakes
● 2 cans Okanagan Select Smoked King Salmon (we recommend Okanagan Select Regular Okanagan King Salmon, Raincoast Trading Wild Pink Salmon and Sockeye Salmon, Safe Catch No-salt Wild Pink Salmon)
● 3 medium Poplar Bluff Agria Potatoes or Russets, (around 2 cups cooked)
● 1 whole Egg
● 1 cup Gluten-free Bread Crumbs (we recommend Panneriso, Kinnikinnick Gluten-Free Panko-Style Bread Crumbs, Plum-M-Good Organic Brown Rice Bread crumbs)
● 1⁄2 bunch Scallion, chopped (just the green part)
● 2 tbsp Mayonnaise (we recommend Homemade, Suzie’s Organic, Chosen Foods, Primal
Kitchen, Veganaise)
● 2 tbsp fresh Dill, lightly chopped
● zest of 1⁄2 Lemon
● 1⁄2 tsp Salt
● 1⁄2 tsp Black Pepper
● Neutral Oil for pan-frying (we recommend Spectrum refined Canola Oil, Maison Orphee Grapeseed Oil, Chosen Foods and Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil)
Blackberry Juniper Chutney
● 1 cup Bremner’s Organic Frozen Blackberries
● 1⁄2 bunch Scallion, chopped (just the white part)
● 1 clove Garlic, finely minced
● 1⁄4 cup Water
● juice of 1 Lemon
● 1 1⁄2 tbsp Maple Syrup (we recommend Uncle Luke’s, Hollow, Carrick Bro’s, Escuminac Organic)
● 2 tsp Neutral Oil
● 2 tsp fresh or 1 tsp dried Thyme (we recommend Simply Organic, Chickadee Farms)
● 1 tsp Juniper Berries, roughly crushed
● 1⁄2 tsp Salt
Garnish
● Canadian Kelp Dried Macro Kelp, lightly crushed
● Microgreens (preferred variety, I enjoy something spicy like radish for this recipe)
● Flaky Salt (we recommend Maldon, Vancouver Island)
● Creme Fraiche, to taste (we recommend Vital Green Farms)
Instructions
1. Begin by boiling the potatoes. Peel them and then chop them roughly the same size as you would hashbrowns. Add to a medium-sized pot and cover with water. Add a heavy pinch of salt and place on the stove over high heat, then reduce to a low boil for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender (check them by inserting a knife or fork through). Drain and let them cool for around 5 minutes. Measure out two cups of potatoes, if there are extra save them for another recipe, or fry up on the side. Add to a bowl and gently mash with a potato masher or fork (don’t mash too much, small chunks give the dish extra texture).
2. Make the salmon cakes by adding the tinned salmon, mashed potatoes, 1 egg, zest of 1⁄2 lemon and mayonnaise into a bowl. Separate the dill fronds from the stems and lightly chop, add to the bowl. Chop the scallions and add to the bowl, season with the salt and pepper. Mix with your hands until well combined. Let this mixture sit in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to help set. Portion the mixture into 8 or so balls (try to keep them roughly the same size), flatten them out using your palms, pushing the edges in if they get too thin (if you notice any cracks simply press them back together). Add the patties to the rice breadcrumbs then set on a plate and place in the fridge. If freezing, place on a sheet tray with parchment, once frozen place in a container or bag.
3. Make the blackberry sauce. Add 2 tsp of neutral oil into a small pot, add the chopped green onion (white part only) and garlic. Cook over medium-low heat until the onions have softened around 5 minutes. Add the blackberries and 1/4 cup of water and increase the heat to medium. Add a lid for 5 minutes or so to help the berries release their water. Take it off and let the liquid reduce further for 5 minutes, then add the juniper berries, thyme and salt. Cook 3 minutes further then add the maple syrup and lemon juice. Let reduce until it is a nice saucy-jammy consistency, around 10 more minutes and taste for seasoning, the sauce should be sweet and sour with savoury notes. Take off the heat and reserve for later.
4. Fry the salmon cakes. Cover the bottom of a pan with neutral oil and place on medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering and hot add 3-4 salmon cakes (add as many as can fit, but ensure they are not touching). Fry for 5 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes, add more oil if the pan looks dry.
*If frying off the whole batch, they can be added to an oven on the keep-warm setting or a preheated 325 oven while you fry the rest.
5. To make the crispy kelp, add to 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Then take it out and let it cool, crush lightly between your fingers. Set aside.
6. Plate by adding the fish cakes on the bottom, top with the blackberry juniper chutney, add microgreens and finish off with crispy kelp! Sprinkle with flaky salt and enjoy with creme fraiche on the side. Enjoy this delicious indigenous-inspired meal as an appetizer, or a main for lunch or dinner!
Agria Potatoes
“Agria” is a perfect potato, high-yielding and versatile. A large German variety of potato, the flesh is waxy and somewhat dry, but not as dry as a potato-like russet. They work very well in any recipe that calls for potatoes and cooked on their own they become stars! They maintain their shape well and make very good french fries. They can be also stored for long periods of time.
Freezing and Reheating
As I have noted at the end of step 2 this recipe can be easily made and then frozen for easy meals throughout the week. They may be baked from frozen in the oven in an oiled pan at 425 degrees for 20 or so minutes (keep in mind these will not get as crispy as pan-frying), in the air fryer, deep fryer or simply in a pan. These will last up to 6 months covered in the fridge. They may be stored in a bag, plastic container or litre container.
Substitutions
The smoked salmon may be substituted with tuna if preferred. Amaranth carries many great varieties such as Safe Catch Elite Skipjack Tuna, Safe Catch Wild Albacore Tuna, Raincoast Global Wild Skipjack Tuna and St. Jeans Cannery No-salt Tuna. Fresh dill may be substituted for dry in a pinch. The blackberries may be substituted with Solstice Berry Farm Saskatoon berries as well as Blueberries from Nudefruit, Earthbound Farm, Stalhush Farms and Bremners.
Tips
Keep in mind that substituting a no-salt variety of tuna or salmon will make the dish less flavourful, so ensure to season appropriately! I have used both the tops and bottoms of the green onions in this recipe, typically the green part we know as “scallions” and the bottom white part is the onion, when differentiating where one starts and the other begins, look where the onions begin to branch and the colours change. Omit the creme fraiche to make this recipe lactose-friendly and dairy-free.
Extra Information
I have used a handful of items in this recipe that were parts of the Salish diet, others are simply references. The kelp, smoked salmon, blackberries and junipers are all items that can be found on the west coast. The scallions are reminiscent of nodding and wild onions, while the dill is similar to wild herbs such as rocket and seablite. The potatoes are similar to lily bulbs and duck potatoes which are tubers produced by plants in the lily family. The maple syrup is similar to birch or Saskatoon syrup, which were the indigenous people's only forms of sweeteners.