Cake au Saumon (Salmon and Spinach Cake; Gluten Free)

Photo and styling by Bèatrice Peltre

The French use the English word “cake” to refer to a “cake made with candied fruit and raisins.” The word is also now also widely used to refer to a savory cake made with proteins like meat, fish, dairy and vegetables—like this one. You can often find these “cakes” served with a drink as an aperitif. They are also delicious eaten alongside a nutritious soup, and we love it just that way. I use my own preserved garden herbs here, either dried or straight from the freezer, but if you have fresh basil and tarragon feel free to use them instead. Also, this cake is gluten free, but you could replace the millet, potato, sorghum and buckwheat flours with 1½ cups whole-wheat or all-purpose flour if that’s what you have on hand.

Makes 1 cake

1/3 cup olive oil plus more for the bread pan
2/3 cup millet flour
1/3 cup potato flour (or tapioca flour)
1/3 cup sorghum flour
1/3 cup buckwheat flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon dry or frozen chopped basil
¼ teaspoon dry or frozen chopped tarragon
½ teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk
about 1 cup leftover cooked salmon, flaked
1 cup baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
1/3 cup sliced almonds
¼ cup grated hard cheese like Gruyère or Comté

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Brush a little oil at the bottom of an 8- x 4-inch bread pan. Line it with a piece of parchment paper overhanging on 2 opposite sides to help lift the cake once baked; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine millet flour, potato flour, sorghum flour, buckwheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, basil, tarragon and lemon zest. Season with pepper; set aside.

In another bowl, beat the eggs. Pour in the buttermilk and the 1/3 cup olive oil. Add the liquid ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Fold in the cooked salmon, spinach leaves, ¼ cup of the sliced almonds and 2/3 of the cheese. Pour the cake batter into the pan and top with the remaining cheese and almonds.

Bake the cake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven to 350°F. Continue to bake for 30–35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes before lifting the cake out of the pan by pulling the parchment paper out. Remove the paper and leave the cake to cool completely on a rack.

Slice and enjoy fresh as a snack, or serve as an aperitif, with soup or a side salad.

This recipe appeared in the Winter 2020 issue as part of a larger story on Leftovers and Food Waste.