Creamy salmon & dill fishcakes

Ingredients

For the mixture
1 tbsp olive oil
80g unsalted butter
1 shallot
, finely chopped
80g plain flour
1 tbsp sherry or vermouth
500ml semi-skimmed milk
pinch cayenne pepper
a little freshly grated nutmeg
zest ½ lemon
plus 1 tbsp juice
200g salmon
, flaked into large pieces
½ bunch dill, finely chopped
salad, to serve
For frying
100g plain flour
1 eggbeaten
150g breadcrumbs (panko if you can get them)
oil, for frying
For the horseradish yogurt
2 tsp horseradish sauce
6 tbsp full-fat Greek yogurt

Method

Heat the oil and butter together over a medium heat in a saucepan and add the shallot. Fry for a few mins, then add the flour and stir until you have a thick paste. Stir in the vermouth or sherry. Gradually add the milk, stirring all the time over a low heat until you have a smooth, very thick sauce (a similar consistency to mashed potato). Add the cayenne, nutmeg and lemon zest, season to taste, then remove from the heat. Stir in the salmon, dill and lemon juice. Spread the mixture over a plate (to speed up cooling), cover and chill for at least 1 hr.


To make the fishcakes, put the flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs in three separate bowls. Scoop a large spoonful of the fishcake mixture (each spoonful should weigh around 115g) and roll lightly between oiled hands to form a ball or roll, before flattening lightly. Drop into the flour to coat, followed by the egg and then the breadcrumbs.


Heat enough oil to cover the base of a large frying pan. Shallow-fry the fishcakes over a medium-low heat in small batches for 5-6 mins on either side or until golden brown and crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.


For the horseradish yogurt, stir the ingredients together in a bowl until smooth and season with a little salt. Serve the fishcakes with a dollop of the yogurt and a fennel salad.