Wasabi Salmon Cakes

I'm the kind of person who stands over the pan with a fork, scraping off the crispy salmon skin and shoving fork-fulls of it into my mouth.  At the sushi bar I'll order 4 pieces of salmon nigiri, 2 salmon/avocado rolls, and grab the salmon pieces off my rainbow roll first.  I love the rich, buttery flavor of salmon and those fatty acids are so good for your health.  Salmon cakes are fun and relatively easy to make.  Recently I tried using wasabi mayonnaise to give the cakes some kick.  Now if you don't eat eggs you could use Veganaise (which I really like) and add some wasabi paste to the mix.  Sometimes I fry these cakes in a pan of oil, but this time I decided to bake it- which was actually easier since I made a bunch.  I steamed a bunch of teeny-tiny-baby-bok choy, whipped up some mint/wasabi mayo dip and voila- the perfect salmon-lover's meal!  Enjoy!

Wasabi Salmon Cakes

Ingredients

• 1 can of cooked salmon (wild Alaskan is healthiest)
• 2-3 carrots, or 1 small/medium sized sweet potato
• 2 tablespoons of wasabi mayonnaise
• 1 garlic clove finely minced
• Chives finely cut (about 6 stems worth)
• 3/4 cups of gluten free flour (I used corn and rice flour)
• Salt, pepper and oil

Directions

1. Peel and chop the carrots or sweet potato into small chunks.
2. Boil in water or steam carrots/sweet potato chunks until they are very soft.
3. Drain the carrots/sweet potatoes into a bowl and mash till they are smooth (unless you like the chunks.)
4. Add the salmon and wasabi mayo.
5. Stir in the flour, (you may need more or less flour, just put in enough so the cake batter sticks together but is not too wet.)
6. Add the garlic and chives, salt and pepper to taste.
7. Form small patties and place on a lined baking sheet.
8. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 425 degrees F.
9. Remove from the oven and flip over patties, making sure the bottom got nice and golden.
10. Return to oven and bake for 15 minutes until golden and crispy.
11. Serve with baby bok choy and *mayo sauce*.

***For any fish dish I always make a mayo dipping sauce of some variation.  Sometimes I'll just do lemon juice and mayo, sometimes I add dill, or Dijon mustard.  For this dish I used half wasabi mayo and half regular mayo and added some lime juice and freshly chopped mint.****