Butternut Squash and Salmon Bites
These lovely mini fish cakes, use up a whole variety of vegetables and make a tasty and healthy meal idea. Roasted butternut squash is the base, to which I add flaked salmon, finely chopped spring onions, red pepper and some cooked spinach. Once golden and crispy, these bites taste delicious, with plenty of colour and interest.
You can freeze this recipe: prepped and uncooked. Just freeze the bites on a covered tray and after 4-5 hours; then when they are frozen solid place in a labelled zip-lock bag. This will hopefully give you a few meals, from one cook.
Recipes like these work well for kids: there is quite a lot packed into each bite and they are easy to eat. My children were both pretty independent eaters from the beginning, so I combined finger foods with purees. Recipes like these mini fish cakes were a great option; as they enjoyed getting messy and feeding themselves. I liked them too, as I could batch cook and plan a few meals from one recipe.
Ingredients ~
350g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 tablespoon olive oil
200g organic salmon
1/2 small red pepper (50g), wash, remove seeds, finely chop
2 finely chopped spring onions (20g)
2 handfuls of fresh baby spinach, cooked in a splash of water, drained and chopped
1 tablespoon parsley (optional)
1/2 tablespoon plain flour
To breadcrumb the bites ~
plain flour
2 free-range organic eggs, beaten
dried breadcrumbs, I use shop bought here
olive oil for cooking
To prep the bites ~
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven). On a lined baking sheet toss the prepped butternut squash with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Roast for 20-25 minutes until soft and golden. Remove from the oven to cool. Blitz the cooled butternut squash in a blender, if needed you can add 1 teaspoon water to help the squash break-down. But ideally you won’t need to, as you want the mix as dry as possible to make the bites hold their shape.
If using fresh salmon (you can use cooked salmon for this recipe - it is great for transforming salmon left-overs). I add the salmon fillet to the tray of butternut squash and roast for 10 minutes until just cooked. Cool and flake the salmon, then set aside.
In a bowl combine the cooled butternut squash mash, the cooled flaked salmon, chopped red pepper, chopped cooked spinach (well drained again everything needs to be as dry as possible), spring onions and parsley: combine gently adding 1/2 tablespoon flour to help the mix firm. Take a lined baking sheet and with a tablespoon measure out 15 bite sized balls onto the sheet. Rolling the bites with your hands to make a ball. Firm up in the fridge for 30mins to 1 hour.
To breadcrumb the balls generously roll them in flour (I do this twice) > then the beaten egg > then the breadcrumbs. Place on a plate ready for cooking.
If freezing any bites, or cooking later on, set them aside now
To cook the bites ~
Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven). Take a large frying pan and add a little olive oil, gently fry the bites on a low heat until golden on all sides. Then place in the oven to warm through for 10 mins or so. They should be golden brown and piping hot all the way through. Cool a little and serve, with a little fresh lemon juice squeezed over the top.