I really want ice cream, but I can’t have it. So I’m back behind the stove and I thought it was about time I started putting sriracha on everything like all the cool kids are doing. Has anyone put it on ice cream yet? I bet they have. I bet there is homemade sriracha chocolate ice cream. I’d eat that. Except it looks like I can’t. So, hey, how about salmon? Why yes I am totally sad, why do you ask?

Actually these salmon cakes remind me a bit of the ones my mother used to make. Of course, she used can salmon and I got one of those farm-raised fillets from Whole Foods, what with all the bones in it. (Side note: Does anyone actually WANT the bones? Why not just debone it all, Whole Foods?) I also chopped up fresh chives, which is kind of one of my favorite things to do now that I can’t eat ice cream. And then I added a splash of sriracha because that’s what you do. You know what? These were pretty danged good. And since I poached the salmon the night before, I was able to throw this together super quickly after work, sautee up some kale with pumpkin seeds, and go to healthy town.

Almost Whole 30 friendly (it’s those bread crumbs and yogurt sauce that’ll get ya’) but definitely friendly to my new way of trying to eat clean, this recipe is a winner. Incidentally, in the original recipe from Epicurious you do not poach the salmon ahead of time. I just have such a weird thing about cooking fish all the way through I wanted to make sure that was happening before I chowed down. I mean, I have LOTS of weird things, and I think making sure fish is cooked is pretty far down on my list. Like way after assigning gender to numbers (3 is SUCH a girl), but weirder than my love for taco shells all on their own.

Here’s how to make it up!

Gluten-Free Sriracha Salmon Cakes

Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 7-10 minutes

Ingredients:

2 medium-large salmon fillets, poached (or not, hey!)
3 slices gluten-free bread, cut into very small pieces
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon (or more to taste) sriracha
3/4 Tablespoon salt

Sauce:

3/4 cup whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1. In a medium bowl, break up salmon into smaller pieces. Add bread crumbs and combine thoroughly. Mix in mayo, egg, coriander, cayenne, 1 Tablespoon of chives, lemon zest, sriracha and salt.

2. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet on medium for 2 minutes. Shape salmon patties and push flat so they cook through, and cook on medium, approximately 5 minutes per side or until cooked through.

3. While salmon cakes are cooking, combine yogurt, lemon juice and the rest of the chives.

4. Serve salmon cakes with yogurt sauce.

Makes: 4 servings