Salmon Cakes are a delicious and easy way to get your daily omega 3 intake. They are crispy on the outside and bursting with juicy flavour on the inside. This recipe uses fresh salmon, not canned, cut into chunks with a creamy dill sauce that is dairy free. Salmon Cakes can be made gluten free if you use gluten free breadcrumbs!

Health Benefits of Salmon

Salmon is low in calories, low in saturated fat, high in protein and a wonderful source of omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). Omega 3 is very important because it reduces inflammation throughout the body, keeps the blood from clotting excessively and maintains cell membrane fluidity (Mateljan, 2007). It can also help with depression, hyperactivity, behaviour problems in children and reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Choose wild caught salmon

It is important to buy wild caught salmon because farmed salmon is raised in crowded pens and fed antibiotics and artificial colouring to turn their flesh pink. These are harmful to human health because the antibiotic in the salmon can kill the good bacteria in our bodies. Farmed salmon is also lower in protein and higher in saturated fats. Salmon farming operations are also very harmful to the surrounding environment due to the large amount of waste, chemicals and pesticides that pass through the cages and disrupt the ecological balance of the environment. For more information check out this pdf put together by the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform. When you purchase Atlantic salmon, unfortunately you are buying farmed raised salmon, your best bet is wild-caught Alaskan salmon.

The batter for this recipe is quite different from what you would expect since the salmon cakes contain juicy chunks of fresh salmon rather than canned salmon. Every time I make this recipe I think there is no way it will hold together to form round salmon cakes, and every time the recipe works and proves me wrong! So don’t worry if your batter looks like mine below.

Salmon Cakes with Creamy Dill Sauce

(dairy free, gluten free, nightshade free)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Inactive Prep: 1 hour

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Serving size: 4 people, 8 small patties

Ingredients:

• 1 large wild salmon fillet, roughly 300g, cut into 1cm cubes
• 2 eggs
• 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 3 garlic scapes or 2 green onions, chopped
• 1 cup breadcrumbs (2 small pieces of toast, processed)
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 1 Tbsp grapeseed oil

Creamy Dill Sauce (Dairy Free )

• ½ cup raw cashews
• 2 Tbsp almond milk
• 4 Tbps fresh dill
• 2 Tbsp fresh chives or 2 tsp dried chives
• ½ tsp dried parsley
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Place cashews in a bowl, cover with water and soak for about an hour. Once they are soft, rinse and drain before using. If you don’t have time to soak the cashews the sauce will still work but it may need a little water and it won’t be as smooth.
2. Scramble the eggs in a large bowl then stir in the remaining ingredients, except of the oil and sauce ingredients.
3. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Shape salmon cakes into 8 small patties and cook for 8 minutes, turning once, until golden on each side.
4. While the salmon cakes are cooking, place the creamy dill sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Do you like salmon? Feel free to share your favourite recipe in the comments section!