Autumn is upon us! As the days draw shorter it’s time to embrace seasonal produce to boost our immune system leading into the colder months.

Delicious root vegetables such as pumpkin, kumara parsnip and swede, alongside vitamin C rich fruits such as oranges, figs and pears are nature’s natural way of supporting our health as the seasons change.

When it’s cooler outside, it is the ideal time for including a mixture of lightly sautéed, stewed and cooked produce to give our digestion a rest after the summer season of salads and raw fruit. Lightly steaming or sautéing your veggies as well as adding leafy green veggies to roast vegetable salads will keep you energised and nourished.

Parsnip is a delicious, slightly sweet starchy vegetable with significantly lower levels of carbohydrate than potato or kumara.

These salmon cakes are ridiculously easy and a great transition food for autumn when you don’t want a salad but you aren’t quite ready for a casserole. Look for sustainably caught tinned salmon in BPA-free brands at your health food store.

This recipe takes 15 minutes to prepare, 15 minutes cooking time and serves 6.

Ingredients

• 415g can of pink salmon
• 4 medium sized parsnips cut into small cubes
• 1 small swede cut into small cubes
• 1 egg (add an extra egg if the mixture is too dry)
• 1 heaped tbsp of coconut flour or 3 tbsp of ground almonds or gluten free flour
• Grated zest of one lemon
• 1 tbsp of capers (optional)
• 1 spring onion finely sliced
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup of ground almonds or gluten free breadcrumbs for coating
• Oil of choice for frying

Directions

• Place the parsnips and swede in a steamer and steam on the stovetop until the parsnips and swede is tender. 
Mash, season with salt and pepper and allow to cool for five minutes.
• Drain the tinned salmon and mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
• Add the mashed vegetables and mix well.
• Roll the mixture into palm size balls and flatten. Pour the extra ground almond mixture onto a plate. Coat your patties in almond meal to create a crunchy coating.
• For a nut free version use gluten free breadcrumbs.
• In a pan heat your oil. In batches fry the patties until crispy. About two minutes on each side.
• Eat straight away with mayonnaise or pesto and a 
green salad.
• Let any leftovers cool before transferring to an airtight container to refrigerate. They will keep in the fridge for five days.

*Note: You can substitute potato, pumpkin, cauliflower broccoli or sweet potato in place of the mashed vegetables.