We’ve been eating at South City Kitchen in Midtown for many years. The smoked salmon cakes are a favorite and unlike those served anywhere else. We particularly like the pickled fennel garnish and the pomegranate gastrique that come with the cakes. Will they share the recipes? — Sonya Shinholtz, Atlanta
“This dish was originally inspired as a fun way to utilize the belly trim as we portioned salmon for lunch service,” wrote executive chef John Spotkill when sharing the recipe. “As it grew in popularity, we ended up smoking whole sides of salmon as well as the trim to keep up. The pomegranate gastrique complements the dish with its sweet and sour notes, while the pickled fennel adds crunch and a touch more acid.”
The restaurant hot smokes its salmon after a three-hour cure of salt, granulated and brown sugar, the juice and zest of a lemon, lime and orange, molasses and bourbon. Spotkill recommends using your favorite smoked salmon when making this dish at home. The harissa that spices the cakes should be available on the condiment or international aisle of most grocery stores.
South City Kitchen’s Smoked Salmon Cakes
Pomegranate Gastrique
Pickled Fennel
This recipe calls for the zest of half an orange. Because zesting half an orange can be a bit difficult, we suggest zesting the entire fruit and saving half the zest for another use.
From the menu of ... South City Kitchen, 1144 Crescent Ave., Atlanta; 404-873-7358, southcitykitchen.com.
Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of the restaurant in the subject line.
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