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Sunday, August 11, 2019

ChezCindy: 'Downeast' Asian Salmon Cakes


We enjoy traveling to New England and particularly love Maine.  We fly into Portland and spend time in the city, but our destination is always the quaint coastal towns.  Portland is an up and coming food city with great restaurants, bakeries, and shops.  So much great food to try.  One of my travel pleasures is to capture food memories by creating a new discovered dish when I return home.  

At one of the Portland restaurants, we discovered Asian salmon cakes.  They were unlike any seafood cake we have had previously, usually being crab cakes.  The salmon cakes were tender and moist with a crisp exterior, served with a miso mayo.  Often times the restaurant will share their recipe, but this time the restaurant was not comfortable doing so.  This would become my next research task when I returned home: how to recreate the salmon cakes.  

It took a few tries with some fails, but I finally created a salmon cake recipe that matched what we had at the restaurant.  Maybe even better.  Making the salmon cakes does require a few steps, but it is worth the effort.  I like to serve the salmon cakes with pickled savoy cabbage.   Pickled Vegetables

Downeast Salmon Cakes with Miso Mayo
1 tablespoon finely diced red bell pepper
1 teaspoon finely diced serrano or jalapeno pepper 
2 green onion scallions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1-pound poached salmon
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, plus more for dredging
1/2 cup vegetable oil for frying
2 limes for serving

Poach the salmon:  Cut the salmon into 2-inch pieces.  Set aside.  Add cold water to a saucepan, enough to cover the salmon when it is added to the pan.  Place the saucepan onto the stovetop over medium high heat.  Bring to a boil, add in 1 teaspoon of salt.  Add in the salmon pieces, then turn off the heat covering the pan.  Set a timer for 2 minutes to poach the salmon; drain the salmon into a sieve discarding the water.  Allow the salmon to cool.  

Working with a large bowl, combine the finely diced peppers, scallions, ginger, cilantro, egg, salt and coconut milk.  Fold in the cooled poached salmon, breaking up into small pieces, and 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs.  Scoop the salmon mixture into 1/3-cup mounds.  Place the cakes onto a parchment lined baking sheet, lightly flattening the cakes.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.  

Heat the vegetable oil for frying in a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Gently coat each salmon cake in panko to coat the sides, top and bottom.  When the oil is hot, carefully place each cake into the oil, cooking for 2-3 minutes on side one, and 2 minutes on the second side.  Remove from the pan, placing onto paper towels to absorb the excess oil.  Serve with lime wedges and miso mayo.  

Miso Mayo
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white or yellow miso paste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Combine all ingredients into a small bowl.  Stir to combine well.  





Friday, August 2, 2019

ChezCindy: Summer Corn Risotto




Summer Corn Risotto is a lighter version of what can often be thought of as a rich winter dish.  Each are delicious in their own way.  In the winter I often make wonderful risotto with sautéed mushrooms or butternut squash, served with seared salmon.  But this recipe is all about summer.

Stop by the farm market and pick up fresh corn on the cob.  For this recipe, we'll cut the fresh corn from the cob and then use the cobs to make a corn stock.  The homemade corn stock contributes to the lightness of the dish, instead of using the normal chicken stock.  But all sense of virtue stops here.  We finish the risotto with butter and parmesan cheese.

Serve as a light supper or add grilled shrimp for a more robust meal.

Summer Corn Risotto
3-4 cups corn stock (recipe below)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
1 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch of white pepper
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups fresh corn, cut from the cob
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
chopped fresh herbs - chives, basil or parsley

Warm the stock in a saucepan over low heat.  Maintain at a low temperature.

Working with a wide saucepan with deep sides over medium heat, add the oil to the pan.  Add the chopped shallot, stirring for 2 minutes to soften.  Add in the Arborio rice, stirring to coat the grain in oil.  Cook until the rice is somewhat translucent with a tiny white dot in the center of the grain.  This should take 3-4 minutes.  Add in the wine, stirring until completely absorbed by the rice.

Begin adding the warm stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently.  Wait until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding another ladle of stock.  Continue adding the stock, stirring nearly the entire time.

About 12-15 minutes into the process, remove a few grains of rice to test for doneness.  Most likely, it still needs about 5-6 more minutes to cook.  The grain should still be somewhat dry at this point.  

Continue adding additional stock and stir in the salt and pepper.  Taste again for doneness.  When the rice is almost tender to the bite and looks creamy, remove from the heat.  Stir in the butter and the fresh corn.  The corn will warm through from the heat of the risotto.  Taste for seasoning, adding more salt as needed.  Stir in the parmesan cheese, add a bit more stock if the risotto looks too dry.  The texture should be creamy and just a bit loose.  Sprinkle with fresh herbs if desired.  Serve immediately.


Corn Stock for Risotto or Chowder
4-5 ears of fresh corn
1/2 small yellow onion
1 clove garlic
6-8 whole peppercorns
1 teaspoon salt

Using a sharp knife, cut off the kernels from the cob.  We use the cobs in the stock, saving the corn kernels for making corn risotto or corn chowder.

Place the corn cobs into a large stock pot with deep sides.  Add in the remaining ingredients to the stock pan.  Add 10 cups of cold water to the stock pan.  Bring the contents to a boil.  Reduce to medium heat simmering for 25 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let the stock cool for about 10 minutes.

When cool enough to handle the corn cobs, using tongs, grab each cob one at a time.  Using the back of a knife, scrape down the sides of the cob scraping the corn milk into the stock.  Discard the cobs, repeating with each cob.

Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve to strain out the vegetables and peppercorns.  The corn stock is now ready to use.  Stock can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for 2 days, or frozen for up to 1 month, until ready to use.