If you live in Seattle, it’s required by state law to consume wild salmon during the summer. Or, at least it feels that way. Lately, I’ve been grilling more than we need in order to use the leftovers for these fragrant salmon cakes that I developed last year when faced with a pile of leftover salmon after a rained-out BBQ. They’re simple to make and freeze well, and offer a healthy alternative to fish sticks. They’re easily dressed up by a simple sauce.
I adore avocados, but my husband is less enthusiastic. So I often end up with halves or slivers of leftover avocado. One day, trying to come up with low-fat, low-cal recipes for a guest chef gig at Rancho La Puerta earlier this year, I decided to use some leftover avocado and added a bit of seltzer water to this salad dressing – and it worked. The result is a light, airy dressing that works well with simple, tossed salads and also with salmon and grilled chicken.
Two slices of toast pulsed for 30 seconds in a small food processor makes about a cup of bread crumbs, and the flavor beats the gritty store-bought variety. If using fresh fish, simply poach it quickly in water. The salmon cakes make enough for two, but the recipe is easily doubled or tripled.
Salmon cakes
1/2 lb. cooked salmon or mild white fish filets
1 whole egg + 1 egg white
1 cup bread crumbs, divided in half
1 small handful any combination of chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, dill, basil or cilantro
4 green onions, white and light portions minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch or two to cayenne (optional)
Olive oil or cooking spray
Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Combine egg, half the breadcrumbs, chopped herbs, green onions, lemon juice, Old Bay seasoning, mustard, ¼ teaspoon coarse salt, cayenne and several grinds of black pepper in a large bowl. Put the remainder of the breadcrumbs into a separate shallow bowl. Discard fish skin. Crumble fish into bowl, sifting to uncover any bones. Mix thoroughly. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray or olive oil. Form the fish mixture into small cakes or “stick” shapes, about 1/3-inch thick. Dip both sides of the fish cakes into breadcrumbs and place on the cookie sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees for about five minutes, then broil for about 90 seconds until golden. Turn off broiler, remove sheet from pan and carefully flip cakes. Bake another five minutes and then broil until the top is golden another 90 seconds. Serve warm.
Avocado Basil Dressing
6 basil leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon minced shallots
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons sparkling water
Wow, this looks great. The use of the seltzer water is really unique, I have never heard of it.
There were awesome! I used basil and added hot sauce. Will make forever!
Yay! Good work taking them on!
Best salmon cakes ever!!
And, this sauce is wonderful. I use it for crab cakes as well. Will find more uses I am sure!
Great! I just made a version of this recently with some leftover snapper and it was terrific, too. Thanks!
If using canned salmon, how much would you substitute for the freshly cooked salmon? These look great!
I haven’t tried it with canned salmon, but that’s a good thing for me to test. Since it calls for 8 oz., I’d get a can that’s approximately the same size. One thing to note about canned salmon is that the less expensive versions tend to have bones and so there’s some waste. So although it may say it’s 14 oz., you may end up tossing a bit of it due to bones. If you use a larger or smaller can, adjust the recipe according. Let me know how it goes if you try it with canned salmon.
The trick with the seltzer water in the dressing was genius.
I will try this sauce this weekend! (I’m doing Ketogenic diet so may be on the baked salmon) thank you for sharing!