The Kreyol Kitchen started because I had handwritten recipes from my father’s mother (see more on that here) and almost all recipes so far have come from her. But this time I’m branching out to a recipe my mom often makes that is a tasty snack or appetizer: farce. A farce is a stuffing but actually can be used as a spread, which is how I’m used to enjoying it. My mom always makes it with seafood so I tried out a salmon farce and am sharing it with you.

One of the reasons I like this farce recipe is that you really can make it your own and can choose the ingredients and consistency, all to your liking. The final dish can be a paste, or a mixture of crushed or thinly sliced ingredients. Read the below list of ingredients and directions carefully to see the steps you need to take for your desired end result.

To play this farce (see what I did there), you really need to start small and taste as you go along. You can leave out or use whatever ingredients you prefer.

• Scallions
• Garlic
• Apple cider vinegar or vinegar with the mother (unfiltered and unrefined vinegar with cloudy and murky appearance)
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Capers
• Hot peppers or hot sauce
• Mayonnaise
• Celery seeds
• Limes
• Fish (see below for more details)

For the fish, here are a few of my mom’s suggestions and preferences:

• Salmon – I don’t buy farm-raised or Atlantic. You can use Rubenstein in cans. I like it.
• Tuna – Buy albacore in olive oil, chunky style.
• Sardines or Herring – Buy Portuguese or Canadian. If you do sardines, I would use slices of shallots or onions. I would add capers and olives with hot peppers to highlight the taste.

To make it a paste:

• Mustard or rémoulade

Other ingredients to include:

• Leeks
• Celery
• Carrots
• Tomatoes
• Parsley
• Bell peppers
• Olives
• Limes
• Shallots or onions

1. Crush scallions with garlic.
2. Add vinegar, salt and pepper. Taste.
3. Add capers and hot peppers or hot sauce. See if it suits your taste.
4. Add additional ingredients to your liking.
5. Mix in the fish. For example, in this case, mix in the salmon.
6. Let the preparation set in the salmon (or whatever fish you choose) and then taste the salmon to see if you want to leave it as is.
7. If you want to make this dish more of a spreadable paste, add mustard or rémoulade.
8. Check for consistency. It shouldn’t be too watery or too dry.

The version of salmon farce I made was crushed and thinly sliced ingredients, and it was tasty and gave us several days of snacks with crackers. Next time I make this salmon farce, I plan to add mustard or remoulade to turn it into more of a spreadable paste. Let me know if you try it!