Thai Salmon Fishcakes with Quick Chilli Dipping Oil

These are a great lunchtime meal if you are following Slimming World - they come in at just 4.5 syns for the oil and Thai Green Curry Paste and I use my HEB for the Ryvita.

I serve with ribbons of carrot and cucumber made using a vegetable peeler a small side salad and a tiny pot of chilli infused oil.

The below makes two fishcakes - be warned they are moreish!

Here's how:
Dipping Oil:

• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tsp olive oil

Fishcakes:

• 1 100g fillet of salmon
• 2 spring onions
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 thumb of fresh ginger
• 1 red chilli
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander
• 1 tsp Green Thai Curry Paste
• 1 Original Ryvita 

Firstly in a small pot place the chilli flakes and the oil and leave to infuse a little - this is your dipping sauce and will act as a great dressing for any salad you serve alongside too.

Now drizzle in a tiny bit of oil or spray into a pan and place on a low heat.

Finely chop the spring onions, chilli and coriander and place into a bowl.

Mince the garlic and add to the bowl and grate in the ginger.Cut the lime in half and squeeze into the bowl.

Crumble the Ryvita into the bowl.

Next finely chop the salmon into small pieces and add to the bowl and give a good stir with a spoon.

Finally add the curry paste and again stir. Then you'll need to get your hands messy by smushing it all together with your hands and making two rounds which will be your fishcake. You could of course use an egg in this mixing process which will help bind the fishcakes too, I just chose not to.

Next add each fishcake to the pan and fry gently for three to four minutes on one side before turning over to do the other side. Each side should be nicely golden brown. Don't be tempted to cook for too much longer as the salmon will overcook. Enjoy!

Classic Salmon & Pea Fishcakes (Slimming World Friendly)

I call these Salmon & Pea Fishcakes 'classic' as they are flavoured with capers, mustard, spring onion and chives mainly, whereas I have shared a few other fishcake recipes previously which ave a bit of spice such as these Thai Fish Cakes with Quick Chilli Oil, Haddock Fishcakes, Tuna Fishcakes and Mexican Style Salmon Fishcakes  

I am following the Slimming World programme at the moment, and this was an 'on plan' meal at only 2.5 syns per portion for x2 fishcakes (this is for the small amount of flour and the wholemeal breadcrumbs - you could actually use HEB for this if you haven't already as I had yesterday). 

This recipe makes x8 fishcakes which I shared between the family, but if you're cooking just for you, these would keep in the fridge for a few days and you can also freeze them. I serve with a big salad for lots of Speed. 

I also made a quick and syn-free 'tartare sauce' by popping into a small bowl 3 tbsp fat free yoghurt, a tbsp of capers and a few cornichons chopped up with a squeeze of lemon juice, some chopped chives and a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Classic Salmon & Pea Fishcakes (Slimming World Friendly)

Classic Salmon & Pea Fishcakes (2.5 syns on Slimming World)

Here's how:

• 1/2 side of salmon or roughly 470g salmon 
• 1 large spring onion
• 3 potatoes (or some leftover mash potato)
• Handful fresh chives
• 1 tbsp English mustard
• 1.5 tbsp capers
• 150g frozen peas
• Salt
• Black and white pepper
• 1 slice of wholemeal bread
• 1 egg
• Fry Light Spray (I like to use the Rapeseed spray)
• 1 tbsp plain flour

Firstly place the x3 potatoes, with their skin on, into the microwave for fifteen minutes. 

In the meantime prepare the rest of the Salmon & Pea Fishcake ingredients. 

In a large bowl place the capers, English mustard, snip in the chives and finely slice the spring onion and add to the bowl. 

Take the 1/2 side of salmon or fillets, and chop into bite sized pieces and add to the bowl. 

Cook the frozen peas for a couple of minutes in boiling water, drain and add to the salmon mixture. 

Once the potatoes have cooked for fifteen minutes, remove from the microwave, slice in half, then spoon out the potato inside and place into the bowl. 

Season generously with white pepper and salt and use a fork or spoon to mush together and mix up until all of the ingredients are combined. 

Separate into eight almost equal sized amounts, and then use your hands to shape into a fishcake, circular shape and place onto a plate, repeat until you have eight fishcakes. 

Now into one bowl place the flour and season with black pepper and a pinch of salt. 

Into the second bowl, place the breadcrumbs from the wholemeal bread (I blitz in the Nutribullet). 

Into the the third bowl, crack in the egg, and give a quick beat. 

Now you are ready to pane the fishcakes. But first place a large non stick frying pan onto a low-to-medium heat on the hob and give a spray with the Fry Light, 3-4 sprays. 

To pane, firstly, take one fishcake and roll into the seasoned flour, then place immediately into the beaten egg, and finally roll in the breadcrumb mixture. Set aside on a clean plate. Repeat until all of the fishcakes have their breadcrumbs and are ready to cook.

Place each fishcake into the pan and pop a timer on for five minutes. 

After five minutes, carefully turn each fishcake over, they should be slightly golden. I use two tablespoons to turn over carefully. 

Cook for a further five minutes and serve with a wedge of lemon, a big salad and if you like, the Fat Free Yoghurt Tartare Sauce. Enjoy!

Baby Bites Mexican Style Salmon Fishcakes

The beauty of reaching a stage during traditional weaning where finger foods are de rigeur, is you no longer have to faff around making purees or indeed making an entirely different dish to what you are making for the rest of the family.

These Mexican style salmon fishcakes are a great meal for the adults made with fresh chopped chilli added and served in a wrap with all the Mexican trimmings – salad, sour cream, salsa – guacamole even. For baby I make to the exact same recipe minus the chill and serve simply with some cherry tomatoes and slices of cucumber and she absolutely loves them.

They have a lovely zing from the lime and coriander and a gentle smoke of paprika so if you haven’t yet introduced bolder flavours to your little one, maybe err on the side of caution and go gently.

These do freeze well too so if you did want to, make a batch, shape them into the fishcakes first and pop into a sandwich bag and once completely cooled pop into the freezer – I tend to just add the extra to our batch though!

Here’s how:

• 2-3 new potatoes
• Small fillet of salmon
• 2 spring onions
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• Good squeeze of fresh lime juice
• Pinch of black pepper
• 1 slice of brown or granary bread
• 1 egg
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Cherry tomatoes and cucumber to serve

Firstly clean the potatoes and place into the microwave for 6 minutes. Whilst these are cooking, finely slice the spring onions and mince the garlic and place into a bowl.

Chop the coriander and add to the bowl.

Blitz the slice of bread in a blender or crumble with your hands if you don’t have a blender. Add half the breadcrumbs to the bowl and keep the rest to one side, on a plate or in another small bowl.

Chop the salmon into small pieces and add to the spring onion, garlic and coriander.

Once the new potatoes have cooked, use a fork to mash them up completely – they should still retain some shape and not become mush. Add to the salmon mix. Now add the paprika, pepper, squeeze of lime and use a fork to stir and try to evenly distribute each of the ingredients.

Beat the egg into a cup or bowl and then add to the salmon mixture and mix well. If, once mixed, the mixture looks too wet to shape into fishcakes, add some more breadcrumbs until it looks pliable (if so you will need some more breadcrumbs made).

Drizzle the oil into a pan and place on a medium to low heat.

Now using your hands, pull out about a tablespoon of the mixture and shape into a small, round, fishcake. Dip into the breadcrumbs so it’s covered on both sides and place straight into the heated pan. Do the same with the remaining mixture – or place some into freezer bags as you wish.

You want to cook them until they are enticingly golden brown on both sides and the salmon is cooked through – four minutes on each side should be more than sufficient – but ensure the salmon is all cooked through for baby.

Serve with cherry tomatoes and cucumber or some other salad items and allow to cool enough for baby to handle.

Baby Bites Lightly Spiced Salmon Fishcakes

These salmon fishcakes are delicately spiced with a little turmeric - almost like an introduction to bolder flavours to come. The soft, fluffy middle with the crunchy breadcrumb exterior make for a fun two-textured finger food.

The amounts below make 7-8 small fishcakes and I give Bridget two with some cucumber or red pepper battons for a meal. One is probably enough if this is one of the first finger foods or you are just starting on solid food.

These freeze well too - just pop into sealable food bags once made and before frying and defrost fully before using next time.

• 1 large jacket potato or two smaller ones
• 2 spring onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 small salmon fillet
• 1-2 slices granary bread
• Drizzle olive oil
• 1 egg

Firstly bake the potato in the oven for 30 minutes until the centre is soft and fluffy. You could of course boil or steam the potatoes but I prefer to bake as they can go straight into the oven and it's one less piece of equipment for the dishwasher!

For the last ten minutes of the potato cooking, place the salmon into the oven in a small ovenproof dish with a little foil over.

Meanwhile finely chop the spring onion and crush the garlic clove into a small frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil and just soften then remove from the heat.

Remove both and firstly scoop out the potato, discarding the skin and with a fork mash it up. It should still have some texture and not be too smooth.

Flake the salmon into the potato and mix through, also adding the spring onion and garlic. Add the turmeric and evenly stir through.

In a food processor blitz the bread into breadcrumbs and place into a bowl.

Crack the egg into another bowl and beat.

Next, with your hands, shape the salmon and potato mixture into small rounds until you have 7-8.

Drizzle a little more oil into the pan and place on a medium heat.

Meanwhile take each fishcake, place into the egg, turning over to ensure it's fully coated then place into the breadcrumbs, doing the same to ensure each fishcake has an even coating.

Next fry each fishcake for around 4-5 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown.

Remove from the heat and place onto a plate with some kitchen roll to draw out any excess oil.

Then allow to cool, break into halves and serve with some vegetable batons and let little one enjoy this tasty fishy supper.