Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes

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Today’s Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes may not look like a clean-out-the-fridge meal, but I promise you they were born out of necessity. An excess of food is a frequent occupational hazard in my work. Brands are often overly generous with their products, which is good when you’re doing rounds of recipe testing. But now and then, you nail the recipe in the first few attempts, and you’re left with more food than you can reasonably handle. This happened to me the other week, and the food in question was an almost complete side of beautiful Atlantic salmon. I know – what a hardship! This scenario would be far from a tragedy in a salmon-lovers home. I am a salmon-lover, but my partner, well, there are few things he dislikes more. 

Eating an entire side of salmon by oneself is not an easy feat. It can be done, but you need to buy yourself some time. Since I couldn’t refreeze the salmon, I opted to bake it off in the oven. Nothing fancy – just salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, and 15 minutes in a 400°F oven. The fish emerged flaky and perfect, but there was so much of it. And then it hit me: Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes – the perfect home for an excess of salmon and a pack of sad-looking spinach. And these vibrant green beauties were born. 

Fishcakes are one of those items I’m always game for.  They’re easy to prepare, freezer-friendly, and delicious with just about any condiment on earth. To make these Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes, we’re going to start with a large pot of water. Peel a couple of potatoes and boil them until they are fall-apart tender. While the potatoes are doing their thing, sauté some onions in a little olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté a little longer. Take the pan off the heat and set them aside to cool. 

Now, let’s bring the spinach into this. Bring a small saucepan of water up to a boil and turn off the heat. Plunge fistfuls of spinach into the water and stir until it wilts. Quickly transfer the spinach to an ice bath to stop the cooking and preserve that brilliant green. Drain the spinach and pop it into a food processor. You can squeeze the excess liquid out of the spinach before blitzing, but I didn’t feel it was necessary. Blitz until the greens are completely annihilated. We want them seriously smooth.

Okay, now we can start bringing these bits and bobs together. Drain the potatoes and place them in a bowl. Add some butter and Boursin. I used a fig and balsamic Boursin, which brought a subtle, sweet background note to the finished cakes. If that’s not something you want, feel free to swap in another flavour of Boursin. And if you’re not a Boursin fan, period, goat or cream cheese are good stand-ins. Mash everything together until smooth and creamy. Taste and season with salt accordingly.

Add the spinach purée and sautéed onions to the potatoes. Give everything a good thorough stir. The potatoes should turn the most delightful shade of green. Fold in your cooked, flaked salmon until evenly dispersed. Cover the mixture and transfer it to the fridge. Chill for a minimum of two hours or overnight. Chilling the fishcake mixture will give it time to firm up, which will make it much easier to work with. It will also give the flavours time to meld.

Okay, final hurdle: let’s form our Fishcakes. I don’t mean this to sound threatening, but you can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way entails scooping the mixture out of the bowl using an ice cream scoop and forming it into cakes. The hard way starts the same as the easy way but with the added complication of breading. Once your cakes are formed, coat them in some flour, followed by some beaten egg. Finally, roll the Fishcakes in panko breadcrumbs. Don’t get too bent out of shape over the appearance of your Fishcakes while you’re breading them. It will be easier to refine the shape once they have their final panko coating. The breading is a bit fussy, for sure. But honestly, the contrast between the crunchy exterior and the silky smooth interior cannot be beaten. 

From here, you can deep fry, shallow fry, or bake your Fishcakes. You also have the option to freeze them. I froze some of mine because, as I mentioned before, I needed to buy myself some time. But I did grab a couple and fry them in about an inch of oil until gorgeously golden. For me, Fishcakes are a brunch item, so I served mine with a fried egg, some shaved radish, a swipe of mustard, and a simple herb medley.

And that’s everything you need to know about these Salmon and Spinach Fishcakes. These brilliant green and crispy cakes are hearty and satisfying while still managing to be light. Making them the perfect spring brunch item.

Enjoy!