Salmon Burgers with Slaw

Ingredients

• 600 g salmon fillet, skinless, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 4 wholegrain rolls, to serve
• 200 g white cabbage, finely shredded
• 2 carrots, grated
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt
• Sweet chilli sauce, to serve
• Pickled cucumber, to serve

Method

1. Pulse the salmon in a food processor until roughly minced — 4 or 5 short bursts, no more. You want flecks of texture, not paste, because paste turns to a rubbery puck in the pan. Tip into a bowl with the spring onions, ginger and soy sauce, season with a pinch of salt and a good crack of pepper, then mix gently with your hands. Shape into 4 fat patties and chill for 10 minutes — cold patties hold their shape and won't fall apart when they hit the heat.
2. Toss the cabbage and carrot in a bowl with the Greek yoghurt, rice vinegar, a generous pinch of salt and plenty of pepper. Scrunch with your hands for a minute so the cabbage softens slightly and the dressing clings to every shred. Taste it — it should be tangy, savoury, properly seasoned. Adjust now, not at the table.
3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high until it shimmers. Lay the patties in with space around each one — don't crowd the pan, or they'll steam instead of sear and you'll lose the golden crust. Cook for 3–4 minutes on the first side without moving them, until deeply golden underneath, then flip and give them another 3–4 minutes. They're done when they feel firm with a little spring and the centres are just cooked through.
4. Split the rolls and toast them cut-side down in the residual pan heat for 30 seconds, until warm and crisp at the edges — the toasted face stops the slaw juices turning the bun to mush.
5. Smear the toasted bases with sweet chilli sauce, sit a salmon patty on each, pile the slaw generously on top, layer over the pickled cucumber, and crown with the lid. Serve straight away while the patty is hot and the slaw is cold.