The Ivy's salmon fishcakes with sorrel sauce

By Birgitta

Ingredients

• for the sauce:
• 325 g potato, mashed (without milk or butter)
• 325 g salmon fillet, poached in salted water for 3-4 minutes
• 1 tbs tomato ketchup
• 1 tbs anchovy essence
• 1 tbs English mustard
• salt and pepper
• 250-300 ml strong fish stock (a cube will do)
• 25 g butter
• 1 tbs flour
• 25 ml white wine
• 100 ml double cream
• fresh sorrel leaves (about 5), shredded
• 700-800 g spinach, picked over, washed and dried

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from guardian.co.uk

Preparation

Step 1

To make the fishcakes, mix together the potato, half the poached salmon, the ketchup, anchovy essence, mustard and seasoning until it is smooth. Flake the remaining salmon and fold it in gently. Mould the mixture into 8 round cakes and refrigerate them.

To make the sauce, bring the fish stock to the boil in a thick-bottomed pan. In another pan melt the butter and stir in the flour. Cook very slowly over a low heat for 30 seconds, then whisk the fish stock into the flour mixture. Pour in the white wine and simmer for 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened. Add the cream and reduce the sauce until it is of a thick pouring consistency, then stir in the sorrel and season.

Lightly flour the fishcakes and fry in vegetable oil until coloured on both sides, or brush them with oil and cook for 10-15 minutes in a moderately hot oven (200°C/gas 6).

Remove the stalks from the spinach leaves, wash the leaves and shake off as much water as possible. Heat a large saucepan over a medium flame, add
the spinach, lightly season with salt and pepper and cover tightly with a lid. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leaves are tender. Drain in a colander to remove excess water.

Divide the spinach between 4 warmed plates, place 2 of the fishcakes on top and pour over the sauce. Serve immediately.