Salmon burgers with pickled-cucumber salad and tzatziki

Fabulously light and fresh, cucumbers are a summer delight and make the perfect accompaniment to these salmon burgers, which differ from fishcakes as there is no crumb or potato.

Salmon burgers with pickled-cucumber salad and tzatziki

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the burgers

• 440g salmon fillets (I used wild Alaskan)
• 4 finely chopped spring onions
• 2tbspn capers
• Handful fresh chopped parsley
• 1 beaten egg
• 2tspn chilli flakes
• Zest of 1 lemon, plus a squeeze of juice
• 4 brioche buns

For the tzatziki

• Quarter of a cucumber
• 200g Greek yoghurt
• 1 crushed clove garlic
• Small handful chopped mint leaves

For the salad

• 1 cucumber
• 75ml white-wine vinegar
• 1tbspn caster sugar

Method Remove the skins from the salmon fillets, then blitz the fish to a coarse paste using a food processor. Transfer it to a bowl and mix with the spring onions, capers, parsley, egg, chilli flakes and lemon zest plus a squeeze of juice and seasoning. Divide the mixture into four portions and shape into burgers. Put them on a plate, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until needed.

To make the tzatziki, cut the cucumber in half lengthways, remove the watery seeds and chop the main part into small chunks. Combine in a bowl with the yoghurt, garlic, mint and seasoning. Mix well, cover and refrigerate until needed.

To make the salad, cut the cucumber into ribbons using a vegetable peeler, discarding the seeded part. In a bowl, toss the cucumber in the vinegar and sugar so it’s well coated. Cover and refrigerate.

Fry the salmon burgers in a non-stick pan with a little neutral oil until lightly golden on each side. Warm the brioche buns, slice them in half and add a mound of pickled cucumber. Top with a burger, a dollop of tzatziki and the bun lid, then skewer through the centre. Serve with extra salad on the side.

More ways with cucumber

Tuna cucumber rolls with chilli mayo

Using a vegetable peeler, cut thin slices from a cucumber. Finely dice a piece of fresh tuna and toss with a splash of soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil. Pile a spoonful of tuna on one end of a cucumber slice, then roll it up and stand it on its end. Top with a blob of mayonnaise mixed with a little chilli paste. Serve immediately as a canapé or plate up five per person as a starter.

Creamy cucumber-and-avocado gazpacho

In a blender, blitz together a peeled and stoned avocado, a cucumber (no need to deseed), one quarter of a red onion, a splash of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, a splash of apple-cider vinegar and seasoning. Adjust the balance of ingredients to taste and serve, poured over a few halved cherry tomatoes and cucumber ribbons if preferred.

Cucumber salad in yoghurt dressing with caraway seeds

Slice a cucumber into rounds and mix with 100ml of Greek yoghurt, a splash of apple-cider vinegar, a teaspoon of caraway seeds and seasoning. Delicious with harissa-marinated grilled chicken breasts.

Credit: Melanie Johnson

Tahini-marinaded kale with beetroot and sumac-roasted salmon

Melanie Johnson has ways to make eating kale a pleasure.

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Salmon with citrus, red-onion flowers, potato gnocchi and wild-garlic cream sauce

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Credit: Melanie Johnson

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