As is usually the case with a holiday at my parents’ house, there was no shortage of yummy food this past weekend. But this appetizer of salmon cakes on Asian slaw was a definite crowd pleaser. It was a healthy and relatively light but still filling afternoon snack, and definitely enough to help curb the craving to dig into the kids’ Easter Bunny candy reserved for the hunt the next morning. Recipe below.

Reality Check. My mom’s impression, as well as my own when first tasting the slaw was “yup, this tastes like diet slaw.” But it served as the perfect accompaniment to the salmon cakes (and I hear from my parents that it was much better the following day, once the flavors had a chance to blend more evenly).

Recipe
Salmon Cakes with Asian Slaw
(Adapted from: Zero Belly Diet by David Zinczenko) 

Asian Slaw

Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon Asian-style chili sauce like sriracha
1 teaspoon sesame oil
8 cups shredded cabbage (preferably a mix of purple and napa cabbage)
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
Salt and peper

In a large bowl, mix together the lime juice, mayonnaise, honey, chili sauce, and sesame oil.  Add the cabbage, carrot and sesame seeds and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Salmon Cakes

1 pound fresh salmon, skin removed and finely chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup almond meal
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon Asian style chili sauce like sriracha  (adjust to taste and “heat” preference)
2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce, plus more for serving
1 cup Asian Slaw (recipe above)

Preheat a grill pan over medium heat. Combine the salmon, egg, almond meal, scallions, soy sauce, and chili sauce in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Use your hand to gently form patties of desired size. They will be very moist, but if the mixture is too dry it will be hard to form patties.

Brush the tops of the patties with about half the teriyaki sauce and place on the grill, sauce side down. Grill for about 4 minutes, until the burger firms up and easily pulls away from the grill pan. Brush the tops with the remaining teriyaki sauce and flip. Note that they will look quite charred, due to the sauce cooking quickly. Continue grilling for 4 minutes longer, until cooked all the way through.

Place on top of the Asian slaw and serve. As larger patties served on a bun with the slaw, these would also be great salmon burgers (and is the end result of the original recipe).

4-6 servings.