Salmon and barley cakes a la julia
Cakes
A favorite comfort food my mother used to make when I was growing up was Julia Child’s salmon gratin. Made with canned salmon, it was a go-to pantry dish. I loved the rich flavors of salmon with gruyere, shallots and mushrooms sautéed in butter, and subtle hints of white vermouth and oregano. We always ate it over white rice, but when I started cooking it on my own I discovered that it’s even more delicious served over nutty brown rice. But truth be told, even though the flavors of Julia’s gratin are scrumptious, the texture of this dish is a bit mushy and the appearance a bit sludge-like. Recently I was inspired to experiment with those flavors when I cooked up some hulless golden barley from my bean and grain CSA. The nutty bite of the grain seemed to call out for rich, gooey salmon and cheese, but instead of a gratin, I decided to try combining them into salmon cakes. And to capture the creamy mushroom flavors I loved in the original dish, I made a topping of sautéed mushrooms and crème fraiche. These cakes, fried in olive oil, are rich, but not too indulgent when served over lemony greens. The patties are a little delicate and are much more manageable if you chill them thoroughly before frying them. A favorite source of canned salmon is Chuck’s Seafood in Charleston, Oregon (http://www.chucksseafood.com), where they cans their own locally caught Chinook salmon.
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