The green beans were amazing!
I honestly thought most of them were going to go to waste so figured I’d better make a kid friendly main and planned to force them to at least try the beans, but I didn’t have to do that at all!
I made a huge serving and they were all gone! My 10 year old son was incredibly pleased that pancetta tasted “almost as good as bacon!”

I ‘get off’ on seeing the colours, textures and flavours of  vegetables that have been blanched!
Awesome!

And don’t get me started on the colours and flavours of anything ‘bacony’ being fried up!
The smell was driving the neighbours crazy! (Especially their dog, I could hear him scraping at the fence trying to get over!)

On their own, the beans and the bacon were already looking great, but when they were brought together for one last saute, it was like watching the coming together of two gorgeous people and forming a… a Brangelina! (Too much?)

I was thinking of something fancy to accompany these beans and match their elegance, but let’s face it, with kids in the house (3 of them) I couldn’t face fighting them to eat the green beans and the main! I decided to practice self love and went with Salmon Fishcakes! (And surprisingly, they went really well with the beans!)

While the potatoes were cooking, I poached the salmon in milk with some lemon slices and a handful of peppercorns.

I then mashed the potatoes and mixed them with the flaked, poached salmon and shallots (I luv shallots!)
I took scoops of the mixture and formed patties the size of my palm.

These were then dipped in flour, eggs and fresh breadcrumbs before being placed in the fridge to chill for 20 mins.

Then cook for 20 minutes, turning the patties at half time at 200 degrees celsius!

Salmon Fishcakes

(Adapted from MasterChef Australia)

5oog potatoes (I prefer dutch cream)

500g salmon fillets

2-3 cups milk (to cover fillets depends on size of frying pan)

4 lemon slices

handful of peppercorns

1/2 cup sliced shallots

1/2 cup of flour

3 eggs beaten together

150g fresh breadcrumbs (about 6 slices of bread, crusts removed, in a food processor)

Steps:

1. The potatoes – peel, dice and boil until tender. Then drain the potatoes and mash until smooth. Set aside.

2. Salmon – place salmon in frying pan with lemon slices and peppercorns and cover with milk. Place over medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer. When the liquid bubbles, turn heat to low and poach for another 7 minutes.

3. Combine the mashed potatoes, salmon and shallots in a bowl then season with salt and pepper.

4. Take scoops of the mixture and shape balls the size of your palm into fishcake patties.

5. Place the flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into separate bowls and dip each fishcake first into the flour, then the eggs and finally coat in breadcrumbs.

6. Place the completed fishcakes on a tray or plate and chill in the fridge for 20 mins.

7. Lightly grease an oven tray and bake for 10 minutes on each side or until fishcakes are light and golden.

The Pancetta Green Beans came from Dorie Greenspan’s latest book, Around My French Table and were this week’s recipe from French Friday’s With Dorie, click to see a whole variety of takes on this recipe!