Salmon meatballs with lemon béchamel sauce

Salmon meatballs with lemon béchamel sauce

Meatballs? Fishballs? Whatever you call them, these tasty salmon creations are swoon-worthy when smothered in our lemon bechamel sauce. If you don't like fish, these keto bites might change your mind!
March 15 2018 recipe by , photo by , nutritional review by in Recipes, Dinner, Meal

Salmon meatballs with lemon béchamel sauce

Meatballs? Fishballs? Whatever you call them, these tasty salmon creations are swoon-worthy when smothered in our lemon bechamel sauce. If you don't like fish, these keto bites might change your mind!
USMetric
6 servingservings

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs 900 g salmon, boneless filletsalmon, boneless fillets
  • 2 2 egg yolkegg yolks
  • ¾ cup 180 ml heavy whipping cream
  • 1 tsp 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp 1 tbsp dried dill (optional)
  • ½ tsp ½ tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 oz. 55 g butter
  • 1½ lbs 650 g cauliflower
Lemon béchamel sauce
  • 1¾ cups 425 ml heavy whipping cream
  • 7 oz. (4⁄5 cup) 200 g (210 ml) cream cheese
  • 2 tbsp 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • ½ tsp ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp ¼ tsp ground nutmeg (optional)
  • 2 tsp 2 tsp lemon, zestlemons, zest
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Instructions

  1. Cut the fish into small pieces and put in the food processor.
  2. Add egg yolks, cream, and spices. Process into a smooth batter.
  3. Shape into neat little rolls with wet hands—approximately 2 tablespoons each.
  4. Fry in butter over medium heat until golden brown.
  5. Lower the heat and fry for a few more minutes until thoroughly cooked.
  6. Cut the cauliflower into big wedges and place them in a large pot. Cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat and add a generous pinch of salt. Lower the heat and let simmer for 5-10 minutes until fork-tender but not mushy. Drain well.
  7. Serve the salmon with the freshly boiled cauliflower and a generous amount of lemon bechamel.

    8. Lemon bechamel

  8. Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil while stirring continuously.
  9. Lower the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes until the sauce reaches the desired consistency.
  10. Add lemon zest. Taste and add more lemon juice if desired. Season with salt and pepper.

Tip

Don't have a food processor? Don't worry! Just make sure to chop the salmon into small pieces and feel free to use a hand mixer or immersion blender if you have one. Mix the ingredients well and you're good to go!

Recommended special equipment

Blender or food processor

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9 comments

  1. 1
    Robin
    March 7 2018
    This sounds yummy with fresh fish. But I have some canned salmon in the pantry and have been wondering what to do with it - do you think this recipe is adaptable to canned salmon? Ideas anyone?
  2. 2
    Angelic
    March 10 2018
    I don't see why canned salmon couldn't be used. The texture might differ, and I think canned salmon is already cooked. But you can make salmon patties with canned, so it should work here.
  3. 3
    Gentiann
    March 15 2018
    I don't think that canned salmon would work. Raw salmon acts like a glue and allows to shape the balls.
    I assume that they will fall apart with canned salmon.
    You will need to change the recipe, may be add some egg white.
    By the way this salmon recipe is a classic French recipe for quenelles, the difference being they are fried instead of poached.
  4. 4
    Robin
    March 21 2018
    Thank you, Angelic and Geniann, for your ideas. I don't do much with canned salmon but had some in the pantry as a just-in-case thing. I'd rather have fresh grilled, so I'll give it a whirl sometime soon and see how it goes....
  5. 5
    Jessie Z
    March 21 2018
    Curious also about the canned salmon. I think it would work!
  6. 6
    Jenelle
    March 23 2018
    For those who are wondering, I attempted this with canned salmon. I suspect the mixture would work well if you were using it like tuna salad on a bed of lettuce, but the patties did not stick together. I didn't have quite as much salmon as the recipe called for, though, so that may have been part of the problem, After making half the batch, I added bread crumbs to the remaining mixture for the rest of my family in an attempt to salvage dinner, and that worked much better. You could probably used crushed pork rinds as an alternative. The bechamel sauce was tasty but I had a hard time getting the cream cheese to melt completely, so the sauce was lumpy, but an immersion blender took care of that.
  7. 7
    Juli
    May 25 2018
    I made this last night with canned salmon. I used a whole egg and added ground flax seed as a binder. It worked quite well to hold everything together while I fried them but they were really boring. Unfortunately, the whole meal was pretty bland. I made the cauliflower and béchamel exactly as written. Perhaps with fresh salmon there would be more flavor but if I have a nice piece of salmon I wouldn't grind it up to make fish balls out of it.
  8. 8
    Henric
    September 7 2018
    Made this last night and it was great (not canned salmon). Even my son who is a picky eater liked it.
  9. 9
    Day
    January 13 2020
    This sauce is the bomb and I use it in my scrambled eggs every morning for a keto breakfast.

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