Search This Blog

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Salmon Croquette or Salmon Patties or Fish Cakes

This is a recipe for
Salmon Croquette - if you like words that are hard to spell
OR
Salmon Patties - sort of like hamburger patties but made with salmon
OR
Fish Cakes if you are a fling it in the pan sort of cook.

I start with 2 large cans of Salmon (14 oz)
When buying your salmon get the best you can afford.  It does make a difference.  I have found that the red salmon currently makes by far the best fish cakes.  I use Bumble Bee or Chicken of the Sea - which is basically what is available in the stores here.  I gut the one that is cheapest.  (I could say 'the one that costs less - but I think 'cheapest' is just a much better word for people like me who want to get the best tasting meal for the least amount of money.)  Anyway - start with two cans of some sort of salmon.

Open the cans and dump them into a bowl.  I usually drain off about 20% of the juice just because I don't want to have the mixture so runny that it turns into salmon pancakes.

I add 3 eggs.  You can go with just two if you want too.
I add 4 heaping tablespoons of oat flour (that's the big spoon) to that. (Use wheat flour if that is what you have - it won't make any difference)
A tad of salt for the eggs and flour. 
Pepper to taste.
You can add a few other things like a tablespoon of dried parsley flakes if you happen to have some on hand. 
Or use some sort of your favorite seafood seasoning instead of salt.

Heat your skillet to medium hot. 
Put enough coconut oil in the skillet to cover the bottom about 1/8 deep. (I always use coconut oil for medium hot frying.  Peanut oil, or olive oil, or whatever you have will work fine.) Put your salmon mixture in the skillet by heaped up tablespoons.  Sort of flatten them down with the spoon to about the thickness that you like your hamburger patties.

Fry then until they are brown on one side.  Flip them over and cook until they are done.  I cook about 5 or 6 minutes per side.  You want to be sure they are done in the middle because you want the eggs fully cooked. 

Some people deep fry them, and that makes them cook a lot faster.  Of course that adds a lot more calories.

We eat them with wild rice or quinoa, and usually sweet potatoes.  Cornbread is good with them as well.

You can also make the patties the size of a normal hamburger patty and serve them on a bun with chips.  That makes a really easy meal.

I usually cook enough rice or quinoa for two meals.  If it is quinoa, that usually means stuffed peppers the next day.  If it is rice, that usually means something like baked chicken with rice stuffing, or some sort of quiche with rice mashed into a crust and pre-baked.  Either way, I have a start to the next day's meal.

You can serve it with tarter sauce or ketchup  whatever you normally have with fish.
This is a really good way to add fish to your diet without much trouble, and without breaking the bank.