Recipes and Recipe #1 (Salmon cakes)
So, for no other reason than I am an evil person who can (also because someone asked, and I thought, why not?), I'm going to start posting recipes for meals. If I remember where the heck I've put my camera, I'll include pictures.
The recipes come with the following disclaimers:
Some acronyms you'll see are:
Tsp = teaspoon
TBSP = tablespoon
C. = cup
Now for the recipe (without pictures, because, camera).
For some really odd reason that has nothing to do with tossing a couple of cans in the cart when I see that the price has gone down or there's a sale, I have too many cans of salmon in the cupboard. Likewise, I have a giant baked potato left over from yesterday's dinner that I just know won't get eaten otherwise. I mashed them together and voila -- no, wait. It's a bit more involved than that.
FYI: This is not a vegan-friendly recipe.
STEP ZERO: Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray or use a nonstick cookie sheet. Turn your oven to 350 F (or the equivalent in your country).
FIRST: you need one can of salmon (packed in water is better, but no big deal). Open it, drain the water (I give it to my dog), and remove any bones and/or skin (the bones go in the compost; the skin goes to the dog). Dump it in a large bowl.
SECOND: you need 1 to 2 C of mashed potatoes, which works out to be roughly equivalent to one big baked potato or two regular (fist-sized) potatoes. If you don't happen to have leftover potatoes, this is what you do: scrub the skin under water, stab the potato with a fork multiple times, and wrap it in a sheet of waxed paper (or skip this entirely). Cook it in the microwave for 12-16 minutes, until soft. Let it cool a bit. Roughly mash it up, skin and all, and add it to the bowl with the salmon.
THIRD: add your extra veggies and spices. I usually add 2 chopped green onions, 1 chopped celery stem, and a generous dose of cracked peppercorn. You could add chives instead of onions, finely chopped carrots instead of celery, and a pinch of red pepper flakes instead of pepper. Or you could skip the onion/chives entirely, and use what you have on hand. I've made this without anything, but its a little bland that way.
FOURTH: add some moisture. The drained salmon and the mashed potatoes just don't have a lot of moisture to stick together (I've tried without this, but it just falls apart, and, hey, it does make for a good crumble, though). Your options are: a generous squirt (1-2 TBSP) of lemon or lime juice or an egg (or both at the same time). You can also try a TBSP of mayonnaise or natural yogurt, though I've never tried that. Or you could try a TBSP of mustard -- but I think I'm the only person in the world who likes spicy mustard in their salmon salad sandwiches.
FIFTH: add some binder. This is the most counterproductive step ever, especially since you've just added wet stuff to make the dry stuff wet, but you're going to have to add 1/2 to 1 C of breadcrumbs (I use the one with Italian seasoning, because it's what I always have on hand, but you could also use crushed corn chips to make it gluten-free) to make the wet stuff dry again to get it to stick all together. How much you add depends on how sticky (or not-sticky) it gets when you mix it together. You might have to add less than 1/2 C; you might have to add more than 1 C. Oh, and dump the mixing fork (or spoon), and use one hand to do this step (keep your other hand "clean" so that you can keep adding breadcrumbs). You're aiming for a consistency where the entire mixture is still wet, but it sticks together (start with the 1/2 C, and work your way up if you need to). If you've added too much breadcrumbs, squirt in more lime juice (or whatever you're using, but don't add more eggs).
SIXTH: make yourself some patties. Again, use your hands (both of them). Grab enough to comfortably hold it in the palm of your hand and make a ball. Then, ruthlessly squash it like you would your enemies (it's therapeutic, okay?). It should form a kinda-round patty. Put it on the baking sheet. Lather, rinse, repeat with the rest of the mixture. If you've used roughly the quantities I've used, you'll have 6 good-sized patties.
SEVENTH: most recipes for salmon cakes say to fry them in a skillet with oil. I tried that once and only once, and after the royal mess it made of my stovetop and the two really bad burns on the inside of my wrist, I decided, fuck that. So don't do it. It's healthier to stick it in the oven. Put the baking sheet with the patties in the oven at 350 F for 15 minutes. When your 15 minutes are up, take them out, flip them, and put the sheet back into the oven for another 15 minutes. When it's done, cool them for a bit before eating. They should have kind of a golden-brown crust on both sides.
I usually eat mine with a side of salad, but I've also had them in sandwiches, in burger buns, and in pitas (crumbled).
.
The recipes come with the following disclaimers:
- Most of the recipes are pisco-lacto-ovo-vegetarian (fish/dairy/egg) for reasons no cares about. Where applicable, I'll include options for adding meat, because I used to eat meat, once upon a time, before I stopped being able to digest it properly (oops, there's that reason). Also, where applicable, I'll include options for making the recipe vegan.
- I don't use precise measurements (unless I do) -- I usually go the route of, hey, I like this ingredient, I want it spicier and adjust accordingly. I'm pretty sure I've never made the same recipe the same way twice. That said, I usually eyeball my measurements, too. If the original recipe (long lost to the ether) called for 1 Tbsp of white wine vinegar, I'll pour it in until it looks like it's roughly 1 Tbsp.
- I usually make meals that are health-conscious and easy, but where it says "use one tbsp of oil to fry the vegetables" in the original recipe, I will toss in a large heaping "Tbsp" of butter or coconut oil. So, yeah, I don't really follow the instructions that well. I do that because I'm physically active and I'm painfully aware that I don't eat enough even when I make an extra effort to (either my protein intake is too low, or my overall calorie count is not enough to sustain the energy I use up, and I pay for it). Make your own adjustments accordingly.
- I don't list ingredients before the instructions because I never remember what to put in until I've reached that step. I've bolded the ingredients throughout, so look them over before you try this for yourself and make substitutions (for personal tastes/allergies/etc) where necessary.
Some acronyms you'll see are:
Tsp = teaspoon
TBSP = tablespoon
C. = cup
Now for the recipe (without pictures, because, camera).
For some really odd reason that has nothing to do with tossing a couple of cans in the cart when I see that the price has gone down or there's a sale, I have too many cans of salmon in the cupboard. Likewise, I have a giant baked potato left over from yesterday's dinner that I just know won't get eaten otherwise. I mashed them together and voila -- no, wait. It's a bit more involved than that.
FYI: This is not a vegan-friendly recipe.
STEP ZERO: Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray or use a nonstick cookie sheet. Turn your oven to 350 F (or the equivalent in your country).
FIRST: you need one can of salmon (packed in water is better, but no big deal). Open it, drain the water (I give it to my dog), and remove any bones and/or skin (the bones go in the compost; the skin goes to the dog). Dump it in a large bowl.
SECOND: you need 1 to 2 C of mashed potatoes, which works out to be roughly equivalent to one big baked potato or two regular (fist-sized) potatoes. If you don't happen to have leftover potatoes, this is what you do: scrub the skin under water, stab the potato with a fork multiple times, and wrap it in a sheet of waxed paper (or skip this entirely). Cook it in the microwave for 12-16 minutes, until soft. Let it cool a bit. Roughly mash it up, skin and all, and add it to the bowl with the salmon.
THIRD: add your extra veggies and spices. I usually add 2 chopped green onions, 1 chopped celery stem, and a generous dose of cracked peppercorn. You could add chives instead of onions, finely chopped carrots instead of celery, and a pinch of red pepper flakes instead of pepper. Or you could skip the onion/chives entirely, and use what you have on hand. I've made this without anything, but its a little bland that way.
FOURTH: add some moisture. The drained salmon and the mashed potatoes just don't have a lot of moisture to stick together (I've tried without this, but it just falls apart, and, hey, it does make for a good crumble, though). Your options are: a generous squirt (1-2 TBSP) of lemon or lime juice or an egg (or both at the same time). You can also try a TBSP of mayonnaise or natural yogurt, though I've never tried that. Or you could try a TBSP of mustard -- but I think I'm the only person in the world who likes spicy mustard in their salmon salad sandwiches.
FIFTH: add some binder. This is the most counterproductive step ever, especially since you've just added wet stuff to make the dry stuff wet, but you're going to have to add 1/2 to 1 C of breadcrumbs (I use the one with Italian seasoning, because it's what I always have on hand, but you could also use crushed corn chips to make it gluten-free) to make the wet stuff dry again to get it to stick all together. How much you add depends on how sticky (or not-sticky) it gets when you mix it together. You might have to add less than 1/2 C; you might have to add more than 1 C. Oh, and dump the mixing fork (or spoon), and use one hand to do this step (keep your other hand "clean" so that you can keep adding breadcrumbs). You're aiming for a consistency where the entire mixture is still wet, but it sticks together (start with the 1/2 C, and work your way up if you need to). If you've added too much breadcrumbs, squirt in more lime juice (or whatever you're using, but don't add more eggs).
SIXTH: make yourself some patties. Again, use your hands (both of them). Grab enough to comfortably hold it in the palm of your hand and make a ball. Then, ruthlessly squash it like you would your enemies (it's therapeutic, okay?). It should form a kinda-round patty. Put it on the baking sheet. Lather, rinse, repeat with the rest of the mixture. If you've used roughly the quantities I've used, you'll have 6 good-sized patties.
SEVENTH: most recipes for salmon cakes say to fry them in a skillet with oil. I tried that once and only once, and after the royal mess it made of my stovetop and the two really bad burns on the inside of my wrist, I decided, fuck that. So don't do it. It's healthier to stick it in the oven. Put the baking sheet with the patties in the oven at 350 F for 15 minutes. When your 15 minutes are up, take them out, flip them, and put the sheet back into the oven for another 15 minutes. When it's done, cool them for a bit before eating. They should have kind of a golden-brown crust on both sides.
I usually eat mine with a side of salad, but I've also had them in sandwiches, in burger buns, and in pitas (crumbled).
.