This is very much inspired by Finland: Salmon, dill and beetroot.
The Buns
So credit where it‘s due, here is the recepie - in German. So what do you need for about 6 buns:
- 500g Flour
- 240ml Milk
- 60g Butter
- 1 Egg
- Yeast
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 3/4 tsp Salt
The important trick is to preheat butter and milk in a water bath to about handwarm. Then you mix everything dry. Afterwards you add the wet stuff and mix until it seems to be a dough.
And now what these things need to become is really nice and fluffy, is a lot of time for the yeast to do its thing. About 1 hour everything together. Then another 45 minutes after you formed the buns. Finally you bake them for 15 minutes at 175°C.
The Salmon
This is the center peace of the burger, but still quite easy to make. As with most fish and meat, quality of raw material makes the biggest difference. The nice thing about this kind of salmon burger is that you do not need a lot of things other than salmon:
- 500-800g of good Salmon
- Breadcrumps
- Spices
Thats about it. You then half the salmon and cut one half in rough pieces which you use to produce a very fine salmon paste. The other half you slice in very fine pices. Then you mix both together and spice them. Do not forget to clean your knive and board after you cut the fish and sprinkle a layer of breadcumps on it, this will prevent the paddies from sticking on the wood.
There are a lot of possible spice combinations for salmon, I prefer to just use some dill, salt, pepper and a little bit if chilli. But you could also go the Asian route and use some sesame, soy souce, teriyaki and spring onions or the English version with some mustard. Either way, after you mix everything, you can form the paddies as you would with any miced meat and store them on the breadcrump covered board. Then you sprinkle some more breadcumps on top and the salmon and it is ready for the pan. If you have the feeling that everything holds really badly together and you would need some more salmon paste then just take a handful of the fracmented mix and put it in the mixer again, but not to much since the chunks of salmon are what makes these great.
If you like to you can add some cheese on top at the end. I think blue cheese would also fit very well if you are in to it.
The Cauliflower
I think this makes it all come together.
- 1 Cauliflower
- 2 Eggs
- Breadcumps
- Flour
- Salt
- Pepper
- Mustard
Cut the florets from the stem of the cauliflower until you have small pieces. Cook them in saltwater for about 5 minutes and let them cool a bit. Then they will get crumped in the usual way. Finally you backe them in the oven spinkeled with some oil until they are golden. This is much better than french fries as a company for the salmon burger.
All the rest
You can certainly vary here but I prefer it this way:
- Mayonnaise
- Gherkins
- Beetroot
Also everyone seems to tell you otherwise but making mayo is quite simple, you need:
- 1 Egg yolk
- Oil (without a taste)
- Mustard
- Spices
One of the things everyone tells you is that the ingredients have to be the same temperature, but my eggs and mustard are usually in the fridge while the oil is not. So what I do is I put the egg yolk and the mustard in bowel together with a pinch of salt and mix them for some time so they can heat up a bit. Then I start to add the oil by literally drizzling it in until I think it is enough mayonnaise. Add some pepper and dill, done.
The beetroot. I like them – well at least nowadays – and they are a big thing here in Finland. Just peel them, cut into slices and cook them in the water after the cauliflower is done. For some reason gherkins are also a big thing here.
And then you put it all together.
