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Smoked Trout and Dill on Almond-Flax Griddle Cakes

Savory almond flour and flaxseed cakes lifted with whipped egg whites and studded with sesame, topped with flaked smoked trout, lemon yogurt, dill, and arugula.

By Camille McLaughlin, RDN, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist

Built forAnti-InflammatoryBreakfast
Also fits High-Fiber High-Protein Low-Added-Sugar Low-Glycemic
The cakes come off the griddle brown and speckled with sesame, tender in the middle because the whipped whites went in last. Smoked trout goes on in big pale flakes while they are still hot, then cold yogurt loosened with lemon, a great deal of dill, and a handful of arugula that wilts only where it touches the surface.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe

Savory pancakes are underused at breakfast and I do not entirely understand why, since a warm cake with something cold and sharp piled on it is one of the better things you can eat in the morning. These are built on almond flour and ground flaxseed, which give them a tender, faintly sweet, slightly sandy crumb that holds up under a wet topping without going to mush. They cook in about three minutes a side on a moderate griddle and the batter takes ten minutes to put together. Smoked trout needs nothing done to it at all, which is most of why this is a weekday recipe rather than a project.

The one technique that matters here is whipping the whites. Almond flour has no gluten to trap air, so a batter made with whole eggs comes out flat and heavy. Beating the whites to soft peaks and folding them in gives you cakes that rise a little and stay light in the middle, and it is worth the extra bowl. Fold gently, in about eight strokes, and stop while you can still see a few streaks of white. A perfectly homogenous batter means you have knocked out all the air you just spent three minutes putting in.

The topping is assembled cold and fast. Yogurt slackened with lemon juice goes on first so it soaks slightly into the warm cake, then the trout in the biggest flakes you can manage, then dill and scallion and arugula piled higher than looks sensible. The contrast of hot and cold is the whole idea, so bring everything to the counter before the first cake goes on the griddle. This makes a good light supper as well, and if you are feeding people it scales up without any trouble.

Golden griddle cakes flecked with sesame seeds on a plate, piled with pale flakes of smoked trout, a spoonful of lemon yogurt running down the side. Save
Prep: 20 minsCook: 15 minsTotal: 35 minsMakes: 4 servingsServing: 2 cakes with topping

Ingredients

Serves4Amounts change with the number. The nutrition panel is per serving, so it stays the same.
  • 1 1/2 cups almond flour
  • 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 2 large eggs, separated
  • 5 large egg whites (about 2/3 cup)
  • 7 oz smoked trout fillets, skin peeled off, broken into large flakes
  • 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
  • 4 packed cups arugula (about 3 1/2 oz)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, fronds and tender stems
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • Juice of 1 small lemon (about 5 tsp), plus wedges to serve
  • 2 tsp olive oil, for the griddle
  • 1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Mix the dry ingredients: Whisk the almond flour, ground flaxseed, 3 tbsp of the sesame seeds, the black pepper, and a good pinch of salt together in a large bowl. Break up any lumps of almond flour against the side of the bowl with the whisk, since they will not disperse once the liquid goes in.
  2. Build the base batter: Whisk the two egg yolks with 1/2 cup water and half the sliced scallions, then pour into the dry ingredients and stir to a thick paste. Let it stand five minutes. The flaxseed will drink up liquid in that time and the batter will stiffen noticeably, which is exactly what you want before the whites go in.
  3. Whip and fold the whites: Beat all seven egg whites, the two from the separated eggs plus the five extra, with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks that flop over at the tip. Stir a third of them into the batter to loosen it, then fold in the rest in about eight strokes with a spatula, stopping while streaks of white are still visible.
  4. Griddle the cakes: Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle over medium and brush with a little of the olive oil. Drop 1/3-cup mounds and spread them gently to about four inches. Cook three minutes, until the undersides are deep gold and the edges look dry, then flip and cook two to three minutes more. You should get eight cakes. Keep them warm in a low oven.
  5. Make the lemon yogurt and dress the greens: Stir the yogurt with two thirds of the lemon juice and a pinch of salt until it pours off the spoon in a ribbon. In a separate bowl toss the arugula with the remaining lemon juice and the rest of the scallions, using your hands so every leaf gets coated lightly.
  6. Build the plates: Set two warm cakes on each plate, spoon the lemon yogurt over them, and pile the smoked trout on in big flakes rather than shredding it. Scatter the dill, the dressed arugula, and the last tablespoon of sesame seeds over the top, and serve with lemon wedges.
Nutrition Facts
4 servings per recipe
Serving size2 cakes with topping
Calories524
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 37g47%
Saturated Fat 4g22%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 131mg44%
Sodium 478mg21%
Total Carbohydrate 18g6%
Dietary Fiber 9g31%
Total Sugars 4g
Includes 0g Added Sugars 0%
Protein 37g
Vitamin D 7.9mcg40%
Calcium 345mg27%
Iron 4.9mg27%
Potassium 942mg20%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are computed from USDA FoodData Central and are estimates. Per serving (2 cakes with topping).

Variations

  • Horseradish yogurt: Stir a teaspoon of prepared horseradish into the yogurt for a sharper, hotter counterpoint to the trout.
  • Cucumber and radish: Add thinly sliced cucumber and radish to the arugula for more crunch and a cooler plate.
  • Everything seed crust: Press extra sesame seeds and poppy seeds onto the second side of each cake as it griddles.
  • Sardines: Use two tins of drained sardines in place of the trout for a stronger, richer topping.
  • Soft egg on top: Add a soft-boiled egg, halved, to each plate for a fuller breakfast before a long morning.

Storage & Leftovers

Cooked cakes keep three days in a sealed container in the refrigerator with parchment between the layers. They firm up cold and are best brought back in a dry skillet over medium heat for about ninety seconds a side, which crisps the sesame on the outside again and softens the middle.

The lemon yogurt keeps three days covered in the refrigerator and thins slightly as it sits, so stir it before using. Smoked trout is best broken into flakes the morning you eat it, since flaked fish dries at the edges overnight, and the arugula should be dressed at the very last minute.

The cakes freeze well for up to two months. Cool them completely, stack with parchment, and freeze flat in a bag. Reheat straight from frozen in a dry skillet over medium-low for about four minutes a side, or in a toaster oven, and do not thaw them first or they turn damp.

Notes & Tips

A few notes from my kitchen, mostly about the whites, which are what keep these cakes light.
  • Break up the almond flour lumps first: Almond flour packs and clumps in the bag, and lumps that survive the dry whisk turn into pale pockets in the cooked cake.
  • Let the batter stand five minutes: Flaxseed needs that time to swell. Griddled straight away the batter runs thin and the cakes spread into lace.
  • Stop folding while you can still see white: The last few streaks disappear during cooking. Fold them in and you have undone the whipping.
  • Medium heat, not high: Almond flour browns much faster than wheat does, so a hot pan gives you a dark crust over a raw middle.
  • Flake the trout, do not shred it: Big pieces stay moist and give you a mouthful of fish. Shredded, it dries out and disappears into the yogurt.
  • Dress the arugula at the last second: Lemon collapses the leaves within a couple of minutes, and the point of the greens here is that they stay upright.

Nutrition & Mindful Eating

Warm savory cakes built on almond flour and flaxseed, topped cold with flaked smoked trout, lemon yogurt, dill, and arugula.
  • Almond flour, flaxseed, egg, and smoked trout stack up into something substantial. The flour and seeds build the cakes and bring the fiber and the fat, the whites and the fish carry most of the protein, and the sesame and yogurt on top add calcium in the last two spoonfuls.
  • Almond flour is nothing but ground blanched almonds, which is why the cakes taste faintly sweet and stay tender, and it brings vitamin E and a useful amount of calcium along with that texture.
  • Ground flaxseed swells and holds the batter together in place of gluten, and it carries the plant form of omega-3 fat along with lignans. Buying it already ground matters, since the whole seed passes through with its shell intact.
  • Smoked trout needs no cooking and flakes into big moist pieces, and it brings long-chain omega-3 fats, vitamin D, and a serious amount of protein for something you simply lift out of the package.
  • Dill, lemon, and peppery arugula are what keep a plate this rich feeling bright, and two cakes with fish on top hold you through a long morning. The protein and the fiber are doing that between them.
  • As you eat, pay attention to the hot cake against the cold yogurt and the way the dill comes up as you cut through, and let the plate be worth sitting down for rather than something eaten over the sink.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I really have to separate and whip the eggs?

For these, yes. Almond flour has no gluten to hold air, so without whipped whites the batter cooks into a dense, slightly greasy disc. The whipping takes three minutes with a hand mixer and it is the entire difference between a heavy cake and a light one. Everything else in the recipe is forgiving.

Can I use smoked salmon in place of the trout?

You can, and it is a straightforward swap in the same quantity. Smoked salmon slices are thinner and silkier, so drape them rather than flaking them, and they are usually saltier, so pull back on the salt in the yogurt. Hot-smoked salmon flakes just like the trout and behaves the same on the plate.

My cakes fell apart when I flipped them.

Almost always flipped too early. These need the full three minutes on the first side to set a skin that will hold together, and the tell is that the edges look dry and matte rather than wet. A thin, wide spatula and one decisive movement does the rest.

Can I make the batter the night before?

The dry mix, yes, and it keeps in a jar for weeks. The finished batter, no. Whipped whites collapse within about twenty minutes and the flaxseed keeps absorbing liquid overnight until the batter is too stiff to spread. Mix the dry ingredients ahead and the morning work is five minutes.