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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