Salmon burger on a black brioche bun Drizzle and Dip

Toasted black squid ink brioche buns with salmon burgers and crunchy Asian dressed greens are some of the most delicious things I’ve made lately. I am also in love with everything that it looks like. I mean, pink plus black plus green. If I ever had a pop-up restaurant or needed to cater a party, I would pop this directly on the menu with every intention of knocking the socks off my guests.

The squid ink buns come from my friend Kristy of MyFoodMonger.com (sadly no longer in existence). She was inspired to make this exquisite recipe after eating a similar burger in Portugal last year. The buns are easy to make with a beautiful soft almost cake-like texture, and the squid ink doesn’t impart much flavour apart from a little saltiness. You could quite easily make a beef burger with them, which I have every intention of doing as soon as possible.

The salmon burger is a recipe of mine, which I developed for Breville, and has a zingy Asian flavour that pairs beautifully with a good handful of dressed crunchy greens. I slathered on wasabi mayo to make it all the more delicious and burger-like.

As with all burgers I insist on the bun being toasted. I buttered it first and then seared it on my Breville Health Smart Grill. I then cooked the salmon burgers on the same appliance which is super easy to do as the non-stick griddle has a top and bottom heating component. The base is slanted so any excess fat drips off into a capture tray, and you can cook 4 large burgers at once.

To make wasabi-flavored mayonnaise, simply add about two teaspoons of wasabi paste – depending on how hot you like it, to eight tablespoons of your favourite mayonnaise.

Recipe – makes 3 – 4 burgers (depending on size)

Ingredients

Burgers:

500 g fresh salmon skin removed and pin-boned
2 – 3 spring onions
1 T lemon juice
1 T mayonnaise
1 t Dijon mustard
1 t wasabi paste
Small bunch of coriander leaves and stalks
1 t fish sauce
2 T panko or white breadcrumbs

crispy greens:

1 cup of finely shredded cabbage red or white
½ a cucumber cut into ribbons
Fresh rocket leaves
Fresh coriander leaves

Dressing:

2 T lemon juice 2T lime juice, 2T rice vinegar and 1t sugar

To assemble:

4 squid ink brioche rolls buttered
Lime wedges to spritz and garnish
8 T wasabi mayo to spread
To make the burgers place a third of the salmon plus all the other burger ingredients in the Breville Control Grip with a chopper attachment or small food processor and blend until you have a thick paste.

Instructions

Finely chop off the remainder of the salmon into very small dice and mix this with the paste.
Dampen your hands and mold the salmon mix into 3-4 patties. Place on a lined tray, cover, and refrigerate until firm. This can be made in advance.
Mix the dressing ingredients until the sugar has dissolved and toss the greens through this.
Heat the Breville Health Smart Grill to the sandwich and toast the buns on the cut side until golden brown. Set aside.
Turn the grill to Sear, and when ready, place the burgers on the grill adjusting the lid to rest gently down on them without squashing them. Cook for 4- 5 minutes until firm (4 minutes slightly rare, 5 minutes cooked through) * tip – you may want to flip them toward the end of the cooking time if the top side is not brown enough.
To assemble the burgers, spread 2 tablespoons of wasabi mayonnaise on the toasted roll base, and then layer with cucumber ribbons, the salmon burgers, and the remaining dressed greens. Serve open with the top bun on the side.

Author: Sam

*Sadly the link to the brioche bun recipe no longer exists and I’m trying to get the recipe out of my friend. Simply add a sachet of squid ink to a brioche burger bun recipe to achieve this result.

A few of my other favourite salmon recipes:

Creamy salmon pasta with spinach and capers

Herb & fennel crusted salmon with garlic roasted sweet potatoes

Jamie Oliver’s fantastic fish pie

Roasted salmon with a miso & orange glaze

Miso salmon & cucumber salad

Vietnamese caramel salmon in the Instant Pot

Salmon poke

Salmon poached in lapsang souchong tea, with ginger, lemon and honey

Smoked salmon omelette with chive crème fraiche

Salmon burger on a black brioche bun

* Disclaimer * This post has been sponsored by Breville South Africa. I am working on a few projects with their marketing team, including developing recipes using these amazing appliances. Breville appliances are exclusively available at @Home nationwide.

23 Comments

Dear Sam
I have just saved this for one of the meals for our Christmas period week when we will al be together in Aucland! Will think of you when I make it! Thank you!
C x

Everything about this is killing me…I want it so bad! The buns, the greens, the burgers…so gorgeous 🙂

These burgers – swoon! Beautiful pictures Sam!

It makes me so happy just to look at these gorgeous photos.
Imagine how I’ll feel when I make them. And make them I will!!
Absolutely stunning!!

What a treat to see you today SAM!!! I am going to attempt this, tooooooo delicious looking not to try!!!! xxx

Hi Tanja – a treat to see you too. These make great burgers even without the bun. Just piles of salad. xx

Thanks Sune, I seriously love this recipe so much. Please let me know what yu think if you do x

Thanks Jessica 🙂

Hi Carolie, how lovely to be having Xmas in Aucland. Lots of love xx

Thanks Sue. I have to say I cant get over how easy they are to make. I also made a beef burger over the week end with the buns (which I froze) and it was Ah mazing – so Im planning a beef burger post soon.

Yum!!! I need these, they look delicious!!

Those rolls are so dramatic! These flavors, mmmmmmm… I’d love to try. Gorgeous images!

Thanks so much Donna, certainly impactful, but so relish too.

Those black brioche buns look AWESOME. Definitely need to make the recipe!

Thanks Thalia – you will love 🙂

Wow! What a beautifully composed dish! The combination of the dramatic bun and light salmon is especially appealing! I have a nice, light Scrimshaw Pilsner that will pair really well with this. Thanks!

Andrew a delicous light beer would pair so well with this burger.

I am in heaven great healthy burger!love the salty ink and the greens piled high thinking of lobster sliders on mini rolls:)

WOW – those black burger buns look incredibly awesome!! Thank you also for stating that the squid ink doesn’t add too much flavour and that it would work with a beef patty. That’s the first thing I would have asked 🙂

I cant wait to make them again using beef.

The only problem I have is that I can’t reach FoodMonger. The site seems to be down. Do you have the recipe for the buns posted or saved somewhere? I’d really love to make those.