When life gives you lemons, they say, make lemonade. When life gives you a free carton of Greek yogurt, make salmon cakes with yogurt-dill sauce.
I have much to learn when it comes to fish. We never ate it much at home when I was small: fish, along with Beef Wellington, asparagus, and other such delicacies, was classed as Too Good for Kids. This was my mother’s term for foods that she and my father wanted to enjoy without being interrupted by the vociferous objections of picky eaters. In the years before I left for university, I was able to enjoy a decent amount of good fish, usually grilled on the barbecue on hot days.
But now I do not have a barbecue. (Yet. I have designs. Unrealistic designs, but designs nonetheless.) I have no choice but to explore other ways of cooking fish.
I had been wracking my brains for something to do with a can of salmon that had been languishing in my cupboard for far too long when it occurred to me that I had never tried fish cakes. Until now, they have been categorized, along with kippers and caviar, as one of those seafood dishes that people tend to eat in books, but do not often consume in real life. They turned out to be quite tasty—nothing to compete with grilled salmon with pesto, but an admirable stopgap in these dark barbecue-less times.
Salmon Cakes
- 1/2 beaten egg
- 1/3 C bread crumbs
- 1/4 small onion, diced
- 1 can of salmon (160g), drained
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- salt and pepper
Mix the egg, bread crumbs, and onion together in a small bowl. Mix in the salmon and seasonings. With damp hands, form the mixture into about four firm patties.
Preheat a cast iron skillet or grill pan over medium heat and brush it with olive oil. When hot, add the fishcakes and cook them until they are hot through and well browned on both sides, about four minutes per side.
Serve with a vegetable or salad and plenty of yogurt-dill sauce!
1-2 servings
Yogurt-Dill Sauce
- 1/3 C plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp dried dill, or 1 T fresh
- pepper to taste
Just throw it all in a bowl and stir!
Makes 1/3 C
