Growing up in the Bay Area, Crystal Wahpepah (Kickapoo, Sac and Fox) often visited her grandparents in Oklahoma, where they shared food stories with her and fed her Native treats. Now that she’s a chef and ace caterer, her goal is to nourish the urban Native community with the same traditional and healthy foods, and showcase Native cuisine in the Oakland area. She caters under the name Wahpepah’s Kitchen.
Wahpepah’s salmon corn cakes are one of her favorite dishes and so easy to make. If you know how to make a meatball, you know how to make these. This recipe has a nice balance of salty and sweet, and I appreciate how it stretches a small cut of salmon (which can be kind of expensive if you live in the desert) and takes it to delicious heights. The cakes are great as an appetizer or a side dish.
RECIPE
Fresh salmon-blueberry white corn cakes with berry sauce by chef Crystal Wahpepah
Corn cakes
1 8-oz. salmon filet
¼ cup red bell pepper
1/3 cup fresh parsley
¼ cup wild green onion
¼ cup fresh blueberries
1 egg
½ cup white or blue corn flour fresh ground
½ cup corn oil to brown patties
Pan-fry salmon. Cool and then crumble salmon, add vegetables and blueberries, egg, ground corn and stir to combine. Shape into patties and pan fry in oil.
Berry sauce
½ cup each fresh raspberries and blueberries
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch
In a saucepan add berries. Mix cornstarch with equal parts water and add to berries. Add honey and stir until thick.