Salmon Watercress Latkes – Martha Stewart Would Approve

Celebrating Hanukkah calls for eating food fried in oil. Potato Latkes are delicious, crispy, hot, a little salty and and served with sour cream. As they are fried in oil, these Salmon Watercress Latkes also pay tribute to the miracle of the oil which should have lasted only one night but lasted eight.

Salmon Watercress Latkes

• peanut oil (or sunflower, canola or grape seed oil)
• 2  7.5 oz (213g) tins salmon, drained and mashed (low sodium or regular)
• 1 bunch watercress, chopped finely (red watercress used here)
• 2-3 eggs (Omega 3 are healthiest)
• 2/3 – 1 c homemade breadcrumbs
• 1-2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 t Dijon mustard

Mix all ingredients. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes for breadcrumbs to absorb moisture. Form medium sized or small flattened patties, or 1 inch round bite sizes balls. Use a heavy frying pan, heating it to medium high, then adding enough oil to coat the bottom and turning it down a bit as it begins to sizzle.  Use a little oil to begin with, adding more as needed. Cook for a few minutes on each side, until browned and crispy on the exterior.

Serve on a bed of watercress, or your preferred greens, liberally doused with the delicious sauce.

After frying, the round, bite sized balls should be baked in the oven at 325 degrees for 10 minutes to cook them in the center.  Serve them atop a bed of greens or in appetizer Asian spoons with a drizzle of sauce and a tiny watercress leaf as garnish.

You can be creative and use a hollowed out coloured pepper as your sauce serving bowl. These latkes freeze well. Leftovers can be used as fish burgers or sandwich filling with the sauce below or with horseradish, tomato and lettuce.

Salmon Watercress Latke Sauce 

• 2/3 c yogourt
• 1 garlic clove, minced very fine
• 1 scallion, minced very fine
• 2 t freshly squeezed lemon
• sea salt
• freshly ground pepper

You can use a food processor to mince the garlic and scallion, adding the rest of the ingredients for the last 5 seconds.

Salmon Watercress Latkes Print Ready Recipe

Final notes:

• Watch James Barber in a video making his version of Salmon Latkes.
• Thank you to Julia Richardson for the delicious Salmon Watercress Latke recipe.
• Thank you to Susan Schwartz for orchestrating, sampling, liking, inspiring the sauce and writing about the Salmon Watercress Latkes in the Montreal Gazette.
• Thank you to my young at heart auntie Myrtle Stark for years and years of delicious Potato Latkes at family celebrations.
• According to health journalist Harriet Sugar Miller, wild Alaskan salmon is the healthiest, and the pink species is probably the heathiest choice among the species, but the sockeye species, also known as red salmon, tastes really great and is still a good choice–as long as you don’t eat the skin and choose Harriet approved cans. The complete story on what salmon to choose is coming soon on her blog, www.eatandbeatcancer.com.
• Checkout the Jittery Cook articles:
• Why do Latkas get all the attention?

Happy Hanukkah!