Salmon Cakes

Last week's dinner line-up was a round of really great recipes: two repeats (Thai style "chicken" soup, along with this Indian food), plus salmon cakes.

John and I both love crab cakes, and after an article in Runner's World about all the things you can do with a can of salmon, we were inspired to try making cakes.
We didn't use their recipe, but I do want to try some of their other suggestions, such as making a salmon-version of tuna salad for lunch sandwiches.




















Also, bonus, you can get three big cans of salmon at Costco for a lot less than the grocery store. Another benefit to the canned variety is that you can get Pacific, wild caught salmon* at a more reasonable price than if you bought it in fillets. Obviously, the ends require different means, but it's a good way to get some fish in our diets without breaking the bank.























This meal was fairly caloric, but it also had some good nutritional benefits (hello, omegas 3 and 6). I'd say we wouldn't make it as often as once a month, but it came together easily and tasted delicious. You can see that we just had the cakes, the sauce, and some sauteed zucchini with mushrooms on the side. The cakes are really filling. Our only negative comment is that they didn't reheat all that well, so making them for company (or halving the recipe) would be ideal. Still, anything with that much mayonnaise can't taste bad, am I right?



















Salmon Cakes
from Martha Stewart (who else?)

For the salmon cakes:

• 2 pounds skinless salmon fillet (we used three cans of salmon, equaling a little more than 2 lbs)
  
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
• 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Additional flavorings (choose one):

• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish**
• 2 tablespoons minced capers
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
• 2 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeno chile

For the lemon herb sauce:

• 1/4 cup light mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley, dill, or cilantro
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place fish on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast until cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely; pat dry with paper towels. Break salmon into smaller pieces; flake with a fork (we skipped this part, of course).

In a large bowl, combine scallions, breadcrumbs, and parsley. Add mayonnaise, mustard, eggs, lemon juice, and salmon. Season again with salt and pepper, plus an additional flavoring if desired. Mix gently until ingredients just hold together.

Form mixture into 8 patties (each about 3 inches wide). Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate until cold and firm, 20 to 30 minutes.

Make Lemon-Herb Sauce: Whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, fresh lemon juice, and chopped herbs. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper.

Heat broiler. Broil patties until lightly golden on top (without turning), 6 to 8 minutes. Serve with Lemon-Herb Sauce.

*A.k.a., the good kind. There's no such thing as wild caught Atlantic salmon, at least as far as I've heard. "Atlantic" is like a euphemism for "farmed."

**We chose mustard that had horseradish in it, so we didn't add anything else. I'm told rosemary would make a good addition.