March is the month that spawns the most salmon recipe searches on delicious.com.au. Australia’s most eaten fish, it’s versatile and comparatively cheap at about $29.50 per kilo in the supermarket. And its fattiness makes it forgiving to cook and able to take on big flavours, whether it’s hot-smoked and flaked over a potato salad in summer, or baked with baby fennel and served on a buttery mash of celeriac in winter.

In the coming months, it will even make a plate of kale seem a little less punishing – assuming the fish skin is crispy from starting in a cold pan and the kale is mixed with plenty of lemon juice, garlic and crispy capers. Here are some fresh takes on how to eat salmon…

SALMON AND POTATO FISHCAKES

This was the most searched-for dish on delicious.com.au this time last year, and we fully expect the same thing this year. There is something reassuringly retro about their golden crunchy crust and fluffy insides, whether that comes from the mashed potato or fresh breadcrumbs. They taste good and can be super quick to make – about 12 minutes – if you use canned smoked salmon fillets or leftover fish, as Colin Fassnidge does for his salmon fishcakes with tartare sauce.

GRILLED TO PERFECTION

Salmon stands up to strong marinades, so why not use a homemade sweet chilli sauce? Make the marinade by pounding together 60g palm sugar, three deseeded, chopped long red chillies, a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of grated ginger and two tablespoons of lime juice. Marinate two 200g fillets salmon for half an hour before cooking, then slap them under a hot grill on a tray lined with foil underneath baking paper, and cook skin side up for two minutes. Flip the fillets over, scrape up as much marinade as you can to place on the fish, and sprinkle over a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar. Grill for another three minutes or until things start getting all sticky. Eat immediately with steamed rice and Chinese greens.

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CURE A SIDE

If you are looking for something a tiny bit more challenging that rewards with a tasty result, cure a side of salmon. It will be a treat whether you are looking to end up with salmon pastrami, gravlax or just a spectacular side. Try it cured for 48 hours in a mix of salt and sugar spiked with crushed juniper berries, allspice, coriander seed and cloves – the way our food stylist Kirsten Jenkins likes to make it. Serve on thinly sliced rye bread with a suitable creamy contrast (horseradish cream, or a crème fraîche with diced preserved lemon) or with a potato salad. Always have slices of cool, crisp cucumber on the side.

SALMON MEATBALLS

Pulse a couple of skinned fillets of salmon (cut into chunks) with a couple of sliced spring onions, a couple of minced cloves of garlic, the finely sliced stems of three sprigs of parsley, a cup of fresh breadcrumbs, and one lightly beaten egg white until well combined. Reserve the herb leaves for garnish. Scoop equal-sized balls of the salmon mix on to a lined baking tray. Bake at 180°C for 10-15 minutes until cooked and firm to touch. Serve them paddling in a garlicky warmed tomato passata garnished with the parsley leaves and some crusty Italian bread on the side.

SALMON POKE BOWLS

Alternatively, make those salmon meatballs using coriander instead of parsley, add some grated ginger and a sprinkling of five spice powder. After blitzing, roll the mix in hands that have been splashed with soy sauce and then place on the baking tray and cook as before. The soy stops the mix sticking to your fingers and seasons the salmon balls. Serve on a poke bowl of cooked and seasoned sushi rice with diced avocado, sheets of crispy seaweed and a sprinkling of sesame seeds. Garnish with more soy, Japanese mayo or Sriracha sauce.

NOTE: If you baulk at eating farmed salmon, and many do after reading Richard Flanagan’s book Toxic on the ecological concerns around the Tasmanian salmon industry, then, well, you probably haven’t even read this far. But if you have, you know that sea-cage farmed salmon is listed under the “Say No” category in GoodFish: Australia’s Sustainable Seafood Guide, published by the Australian Marine Conservation Society. It should be noted that the Tasmanian salmon industry has been vocal about addressing these ecological issues, although some green groups still express concerns. Those reading who are wary about these matters could perhaps look at using New Zealand King salmon, although it costs more than farmed Atlantic salmon, or try the cheaper wild Alaskan canned red salmon instead. We all have to make our own choices about how much we are willing to pay for that piece of fish for dinner – both in terms of the dollars per kilo as well as the environmental and animal welfare costs.

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