Salmon Patties part II

I like to eat healthy when I can. Certainly I'm not fanatical about it so I work on the moderation principle a lot. A staple in our house is seafood. Costco has big bags of frozen Salmon (farm raised) and true wild caught Cod Filets. I think the latter should worry me because I'm not certain of the sustainability issues. But damn it all Jim (star trek reference people, Star Trek), the stuff tastes good so I splurge on occassions.

I'm a huge fan of crab cakes. Salmon cakes or salmon patties are made on the same principle and WAY cheaper. This I came up with a little experimentation. It isn't exactly low fat, but it does have a lot of the omega3 fatty acids from the salmon so there is at least some balance. Serve with a salad dressed with the same dressing on the Salmon Patties and its a done deal all tied nicely together.

Salmon Patties

• 1 1/2 lb salmon filets (about 4 thin costco frozen)
• 1 t Old Bay Seasoning
• Sea Salt to taste
• cracked black pepper to taste
• 3 green onions -finely sliced, separating the white and green tops.
• 1 celery stalk - finely diced
• 1 medium carrot - finely diced
• 1/3 c canned roasted pepper - coarse chopped
• 1 T chopped garlic
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 sea salt
• 1 C panko bread crumbs + additional for breading
• 1 t Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 t Colemans Dry Mustard
• 1 t dried dill weed
• 2 T mayo
• 1 egg
  
• Fresh lettuce greens and salad dressing (I use honey mustard)

Thaw and pat dry the salmon filets. Sprinkle salt, pepper and Old Bay over the filets. I micro roast them in an 8X8 pyrex pan tightly sealed with plastic wrap over them. The steam gently in their own juices and the carry over cooking finishes them off nicely. I use a 1500 Micro so you may need to alter the time a bit to match your power level. I cook full power 3 minutes, then cook 4 minutes at 30% power. Let stand 7 minutes covered tightly. As the dish cools the plastic wrap will draw tight around the salmon sealing in its juices.

Coarsely chop and flake the salmon filets and stick in fridge to cool them down.

Chop vegetables. In a small sautee pan add butter, white onion parts, Old Bay and salt. Cook until translucent. Add dry mustard, dill weed, celery and carrot, cook 5 minutes until the carrot starts to soften. Add chopped roasted peppers and garlic, cook only 1 minute so you don't burn the garlic. Remove from heat.

Bring salmon out of fridge, add veg the reserved green onion tops and toss lightly. Add 1 Cup panko crumbs and toss lightly. Do not stir hard or you will just get fine crumbled salmon instead of nice big identifiable chunks. Beat egg and mayo. Pour over the salmon and fold lightly. Let rest a couple of minutes.

Get a large non-stick baking sheet. Form the salmon mixture into 8 patties about the size of a large hamburger if using as a meal. Make smaller - 24 pieces if using as little cocktail appetizers.

Place the patties on the sheet. cover lightly with foil or plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes to up to 2 hours. This step is really important. If you do not chill and let them rest to tighten up they will just fall part when you cook them.

Preheat non-stick griddle over medium heat. Either spray with light cooking oil or brush on ghee (I use the latter for better browning). Put about 1 c panko into a bowl for breading your patties. Put a patty in the panko and tap lightly into the crumbs. Gently turn the patty over and repeat with the other side. Repeat for each patty. Place patty on griddle and cook about 2 minutes until golden brown on the bottom, flip the patty and cook the other side.

Serve hot like I did tonight with a drizzle of the same dressing I used on the salad greens. Perfect summer dinner that even my picky eaters will enjoy.

Lightly chop across the grain so you have large pieces of salmon that are lightly flaked

Sautee the vegies until translucent to release the natural sugars

Cook each side until lightly browned and heated through, serve hot.