Salmon Patties

Salmon Patties

A few weeks ago I made an old timey meal – salmon patties. Usually I make tuna patties, but this time I used Trader Joe's salt-free canned salmon and was pleasantly surprised. No bones or skin to deal with. Also, the canned salmon was a lot moister than canned tuna, an added bonus.

Trader Joe's NSA Salmon
Skinless, Boneless, & NSA
60 mg sodium / 2 oz

It all came together quickly and was super easy to prepare. I seasoned the salmon mixture with The Spice House’s salt-free Cajun blend along with a bit of onion and garlic. I also added one packet of True Lemon for an extra flavor punch and a couple of tablespoons of mayo for extra moisture. The end result was quite tasty even with all the low sodium ingredients.

Instead of frying the patties, I baked them. I didn’t coat them with crumbs, but that might add a nice crunch whether baked or fried. If desired, the patties could be dredged in flour before frying.

This is a dish my husband really likes. Now that I’ve got a good source for NSA canned salmon, I’ll make it more often. It can be served with homemade tartar sauce or your favorite dipping sauce. Or, if you want something fancier, I’ve served tuna patties with avgolemeno sauce (sort of a Greek hollandaise sauce). The lemony tang of avgolemeno pairs really well with fish. (Click HERE for the sauce recipe.)

The leftover patties are also delicious cold with a dip on the side. I think they’d be fine in a sandwich too. My only suggestion for a sandwich would be to flatten them out more.

The salmon cake recipe is from a former member of GardenWeb’s Cooking Forum. I've been using it for quite a while now, but mainly with low sodium canned tuna. I used salmon this time because I wanted to try out the TJ salt-free canned salmon.

Baked Salmon Patties with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Salmon Cakes w/ Dill Sauce

Adapted from Diana55

(Printable Recipe)

Salmon Cakes: (Makes 6 -8 patties)

2 6 oz-cans of salmon

2 eggs

¼ cup dry low sodium bread crumbs (I use homemade)

¼ cup NSA dry potato flakes

2 Tbs. - ¼ cup onion, finely chopped

1 - 2 cloves garlic, finely minced

½ tsp. dill or favorite spice blend (I alternate between using dill weed or a salt-free Cajun spice blend)

¼ tsp. celery seed

Enough olive oil to coat pan

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

(I also add some lemon juice and about 2 Tbs. mayo)

Dill Sauce: (or use your favorite tartar sauce/dip recipe)

½ tsp. lemon juice

2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

2 Tbs. mayonnaise

¾ tsp. dill

1½ Tbs. buttermilk, milk, or yogurt

For the patties:

Beat the eggs and set aside. Mince the garlic and the onion. Shred the salmon into a large mixing bowl. (Remove skin and bones, if present) Mix in eggs, garlic, onion, bread crumbs, potato flakes, dill/spice blend, and celery seed. Mix well. Let the mixture rest for about 10 minutes so the liquid is absorbed equally throughout. Form the mixture into 6 -8 equal sized balls. Press balls into a cake shape. The cakes will be fragile so be careful with them.

Coat a pan with olive oil. Cook the cakes for 5 minutes on each side over medium heat. Be careful when flipping them. If desired, coat the patties with flour or crumbs before frying. If using a coating, add a bit more oil to the pan.

(I have never tried frying them. Instead, I lightly coat both sides of each salmon cake with cooking spray and bake in a 375 oven for 8-10 minutes per side.)

For the dill sauce:

While the cakes are cooking, mix the Dijon mustard, mayonnaise, dill, and buttermilk/milk/yogurt to form the sauce.

Greek Food Festival - Plaki (Greek Baked Fish)

Johanna has posted a great recipe for an Olive Oil Pie Crust that can be used for all kinds of savory pies and especially an upcoming Greek Herb Pie recipe. Check out her great recipe here.

Plaki is a simple, colorful, and flavorful baked fish casserole. This dish has the power to appeal to even confirmed fish haters. It boasts a flavorful tomato-herb topping that could also be used for shrimp and even boneless, skinless chicken breasts. The presentation makes it perfect for guests. At the same time, the simple ingredients make it a great choice for family dinners too!

Plaki was a staple in my parents’ Greek household. There are many variations of Greek baked fish, and most include tomatoes, herbs, onions, and garlic. Two ingredients are unique to my family: green onions and fennel. My mother and grandmother always used chopped green onions rather than regular yellow onions. Also, they’d forage the empty lots near our home to pick wild fennel. One major difference between commercial and wild fennel is that wild fennel has a more intense flavor, and it often does not have a bulb. My mother and grandmother would chop up the fennel fronds and tender stalks to flavor the tomato topping. Nowadays, I use the bulb fennel widely available in grocery stores. The fronds can be chopped and added to the tomato topping or simply used as a garnish.

This recipe makes about six servings, depending on appetites and dishes served alongside. However, it is easily cut in half. For just me and my husband, I’ll only use 1 pound of fish but keep the sauce/topping quantities the same just because I like it so much. Be sure to serve some crusty bread to sop up the delicious juices.

Most of the time, I bake the casserole in my kitchen oven. However, during the hot summer months, I’ll often use a metal roasting pan and cook it on my grill over indirect heat. If I’m just making half a recipe, I usually just use my toaster oven.

Plaki
(Greek Baked Fish)
(Printable Recipe)

6 fillets firm, fleshed fish such as cod, red snapper, halibut, etc. (approximately 2 pounds)
1 bunch green onions, cleaned and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly into strips with center core removed (fronds can be chopped and added to tomato mixture or you can just save a few fronds for garnish)
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced
½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
¼ cup fresh mint, chopped (1 tbsp. dried)*
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped (1 tbsp. dried)*
1 14-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
2 washed lemons: 1 thinly sliced (remove seeds) and one juiced
¼ cup olive oil
Pepper to taste

Brush a baking pan with olive oil. Place fish in pan. (Be sure to remove any bones before baking.)

Heat frying pan and add olive oil. Sauté fennel in oil until it begins to soften; add green onions, garlic, parsley, mint, and basil and continue sautéing until both onions and fennel are softened. Add canned diced tomatoes.

Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until sauce is quite thick. (The fish will release a lot of liquid during baking, so cook the sauce until it is almost paste-like, being careful not to scorch it.)

Drizzle lemon juice over fish in pan. Spread tomato mixture over fish. Cover fish with lemon slices. Bake uncovered at 350° for 20-30 minutes until fish flakes with fork.

*Fresh oregano or dill may be substituted or 1 tbsp. dried)

Crunchy Baked Fish

I'm Greek, so I grew up eating all kinds of fish. My dad loved fish and we ate it regularly. Every Monday a fishmonger would drive through our North Hollywood neighborhood with his refrigerated truck to sell our family fish. That was my dad's day off, so he'd select the fish for dinner that night and often get extra to make fish stew to take for his lunch.

My husband has never been a big fish eater. As a child, he was warned repeatedly of the dangers of accidentally swallowing a fish bone and possibly choking to death. He took the many warnings to heart and had little enthusiasm for eating fish at all. Little by little, over the course of our marriage, he's become more and more comfortable with fish. I've discovered that he likes firm fish, well cooked, and fillets or steaks with little or no bones. A crunchy breading makes the fish more palatable to him too.

Of course, the biggest problem with fish is finding any worth eating. I've had pretty good luck at our local grocery stores. Raley's/BelAir in Northern California prides themselves on providing fresh seafood. Trader Joe's has a good selection of frozen fish, and so does Costco. But this summer, I hit the bonanza! A true fishmonger is selling his goods at our local farmer's market. The Little Fish Company is there every Saturday selling the freshest fish I've ever tasted. So far I've gotten red snapper, lots of halibut, and some salmon. So now we're eating fresh fish every week thanks to fisherman Brand Little.

My cooking method is simple and straightforward. Nothing experimental. I want to make a dish that my husband will enjoy; I want him to continue having positive experiences with fish. Using a tweezers or needle-nosed pliers, I diligently remove any possible bones. I combine about 1 cup of homemade dried bread crumbs with either a bit of olive oil or melted butter and set the mixture aside. Sometimes I'll add a bit of grated lemon zest to the breadcrumbs. Lately I've been adding a couple of drops of lemon flavored olive oil to the crumbs too. Then I sprinkle both sides of the fish with one of the many salt-free spice blends I keep on hand, usually Cajun because my husband likes that flavoring with fish. After that I coat both sides with a mixture of 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon unsalted mustard, and 2-3 crushed garlic cloves. Finally I dip both sides of the fish into the crumbs and place the piece(s) in a baking pan that has been drizzled with olive oil. The lemon flavored olive oil is really great. I usually bake the fish in my toaster oven. About 15 minutes at 400 degrees, just until the fish flakes easily.

I make a lower sodium tartar sauce by combining equal parts mayonnaise, sour cream, and plain yogurt. I add a bit of finely chopped onion or shallots, about 1 teaspoon of dried dill weed, and a slurp of olive oil (the lemon olive oil is really good here too).