ISSUE 20 ARCHIVE - COOKING THE CATCH: SALMON FISHCAKES WITH AIOLI

Andrew Maxwell

I've got it... I have it... I've figured it out.

That's right, I, Andrew Maxwell, have the key to solving the world's problems... it's all about food! It sounds crazy doesn't it? Bear with me... I am going somewhere with this!

With the global population on the increase and our natural resources being stretched to breaking point to meet the ever increasing demand for food, it is more important than ever that we all have an understanding of how to cook using fresh, locally sourced and natural ingredients. This is because it is only a matter of time before the world realises that real, skills based cookery, is the only 'modern cookery technique' that is truly sustainable.

For example, this constant preaching that fat, sugar and salt are our enemy simply leads us to eating foods that have been processed to remove these vital nutrients!

Salt when used correctly is our friend. Food made with ingredients which have grown naturally is good food whereas food which contains ingredients whose name was conjured up in a lab is not – if your food comes from plants, eat it; if it is made in a plant, don't! The best way to learn about this is through hands on cookery – through taking real, fresh ingredients and turning them into something delicious!

Yes, salt is a flavour enhancer (which makes our food taste better) but more importantly, our bodies actually need it. Without salt, sugars and fats, we would eventually die!

Eating these in the correct volume is best achieved by cooking real food from fresh, locally sourced ingredients. If they are local, they will be seasonal.

If they are correctly cooked and seasoned, they will

be delicious and if they are delicious, people will enjoy eating them... and if people enjoy eating them and therefore only eat a varied, balanced diet of natural, fresh, seasonal food they will naturally be getting a good balance of the recommended daily allowance of everything they need (including salt) and therefore are naturally healthier, get ill less often, require less support from the state through avoidable illness and will be less reliant upon our already overstretched hospitals... and so on and so forth until all of society's problems are solved and we can all go home and get a good night's sleep!

You see... damn I'm good!

SALMON FISHCAKES WITH AIOLI

For 4 fishcakes:

200g cooked fresh salmon (cooked as you prefer – poached, grilled, seared...)

• 1⁄2 stick celery, diced

• 1⁄2 red pepper, diced

• 1⁄2 green pepper, diced

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 50g crustless white bread

• salt and black pepper

• dried white breadcrumbs

• oil for frying

For the Aioli:

• 200ml mayonnaise

• 1 tbsp finely chopped very fresh garlic

• 1⁄4tspsalt

• black pepper

• fennel sprigs for garnish

1. To make the aioli, pound the garlic and salt together in a pestle and mortar (or crush with a garlic press). Then stir them into the well chilled mayonnaise. Add pepper to taste.

2. Remove any skin or bones from the salmon and flake it.

3. Mix together the salmon, celery, peppers, lightly beaten egg, mayonnaise and diced bread. Season with salt and black pepper. (At this stage it is wise to fry off a small amount of the mixture and taste it, to check the seasoning.)

   Shape into 4 or 5 round cakes and coat carefully in dried white breadcrumbs.

4. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the fishcakes on both sides; they must be thoroughly heated and golden brown. Drain well.

5. To serve: Arrange the fish cakes on individual serving plates with the aioli. Garnish with fennel sprigs.