Prep time 20 min cook time 10 min
Salmon cakes with a delicious and spicy sweet and sour Agrodolce sauce give you a flavor packed dinner ready in about 30 minutes.
These salmon cakes take only 5 minutes to sear in a skillet and I love Jamie Oliver’s take on this because there is no filler involved. What keeps the cakes together is actually a portion of very finely chopped salmon that binds together with the larger chunks. So, all you get is fresh juicy salmon with herbs.
The Agrodolce’s vinegar base balances the salmon’s fat and the dish works well with a fresh green salad or a side portion of bulgur wheat.
Salmon Cakes With Spicy Agrodolce
by
Derek Farwagi
Equipment
- A small frying for the sauce and a medium sized frying pan to sear the cakes.
Ingredients
For the agrodolce sauce
- ½ cup red onion coarsely chopped (yellow onions also work but are less sweet)
- ¾ cup Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper or chilli pepper flakes
- ½ tsp brown sugar(or 1/4 white sugar).
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- Salt to taste
For the salmon patties
- 1 lb salmon filets
- 1 tbsp coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp coarsely chopped cilantro
- 1 tbsp coarsely chopped dill
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
Make the salad or side dish
- The salmon dish comes together very quickly so prep the side dish of a salad or bulgur wheat ready to serve once you have cooked the sauce and salmon.
Make the agrodolce sauce
- Coarsley chop the onion.
- In a small saucepan, add the onions, sugar, pepper and 3/4 cup of balsamic vinegar. On a medium heat bring to a cook down on medium heat until the vinegar gets slightly syrupy (about 4-5 minutes). It will lose its acidity but still be tangy.
- Remove from heat, blend in a cold tbsp of unsalted butter and set aside in a small serving bowl. As the balsamic cools down it will thicken further and if it gets too thick to serve as a sauce, stir in a teaspoon or two of water. Serve at room temperature.
- (TO CLEAN THE SAUCEPAN, Soak pan in hot water to dissolve any sauce or sugar residue.)
Make the salmon patties
- Skin the filet if needed.
- Divide the filet in two halves and finely chop one half until it is as smooth as a purée. Chop the other half in small 1/4" cubes.
- Add the finely chopped herbs to the pulp half and combine.
- Combine the purée and salmon chunks and divide into four patties.
- Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a skillet and on a medium to high heat, sear the patties for 2 minutes each side. (Because they have no filler, the patties can break up so use a spatula and a fork to gently turn them over when searing and plating).
- Plate individual portions, drizzle the sauce and serve.
Notes
Agrodolce is versatile and can be used with different vinegars and ingredients as a sauce or as a thick relish ( like a chutney) to flavor meat, fish and poultry.
Here is a recipe for chicken with an Agrodolce and Raisin Sauce and one for Seared Salmon with Agrodolce.
This recipe is for Spicy Agrodolce used as a relish to serve with a meat or a hard, sharp cheese.
Nutrition
Serving: 8ozCalories: 163kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 6gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 156mgPotassium: 233mgFiber: 1gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 498IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 1mg
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