FRESH SALMON AND LIME CAKES

Sharon and I chose the Fish and Shellfish chapter for our adventures in cooking The Essential New York Times Cook Book. This recipe appealed to me because I have a Kaffir Lime tree in the yard and the flavor of the leaves are amazing. Amanda Hesser, the author of the book wrote "The kaffir lime leaves infuse the salmon cakes with an irresistible herbal aroma that's difficult to describe". She was right, these salmon patties were delicious.

I went down to the fish market at the harbor to buy fresh salmon for this recipe. It calls for a pound of salmon. The salmon prices down at the harbor are around 15.00 to 20.00 per pound. I don't mind paying this if I'm cooking a nice, whole piece of salmon but these were patties with a lot of strong seasonings so I asked the fish monger if he had any salmon trimmings.

JACKPOT!!

You can buy fish trimmings or salmon trimmings at most fish markets for around 3.00 per pound. He brought out a one pound bag and they were just perfect for this dish.

The salmon is chopped and then combined with egg white, rice flour, lime leaves, ginger, wasabi paste, and chopped chervil or parsley. The recipe called for each patty to have about 2 TBSP. of salmon mixture but I made mine larger.

The patties are cooked in hot vegetable oil until lightly golden, only about 35 seconds per side. After draining them on paper towels they are served with lime juice dipping sauce.

FRESH SALMON AND LIME CAKES

One pound skinless salmon fillet, chopped into 1/4 inch dice

1 large egg white, lightly beaten

3 TBSP. rice flour

2 Kaffir lime leaves, chopped, or 6 thin strips lime zest, chopped

1 TBSP. minced fresh ginger

1 tsp. wasabi paste

3 TBSP. chopped chervil or flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 TBSP. brown sugar

Oil for frying (something neutral, like corn, canola, or vegetable)

Combine the salmon, egg white, rice flour, lime leaves, ginger, wasabi paste, and chopped chervil in a medium bowl.

Combine the lime juice, soy sauce, and brown sugar in a small bowl and mix well.

Heat the oven to 200 degrees.

Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. For each patty place 2 TBSP. of the salmon mixture into the hot oil, and cook for 35-45 seconds on each side, or until lightly golden; do not overcook. Drain on paper towels, and keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining patties.

Serve with lime juice dipping sauce.

Makes 15 to 18 small cakes.

Serves 4 to 6

Recipe from The Essential New York Times Cook Book