Recipe Log: Easy Salmon Potato Cakes

[aldersprig]

We made these yesterday:
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/easy-salmon-potato-cakes/d0f1f1de-af65-447c-a268-ea4bc6431ab3

Notes on the cakes:
The recipe means 2 cups of completed spuds, not two cups of flakes.

They need to be a bit more fishy, even with that - maybe a couple anchovies pasted?
Don't bother with seasoned breadcrumbs, use plain and spice it yourself. Tarragon, horseradish?

Very tasty and good reheated the next day (30 seconds microwave).

Comments

Recipe

[dialecticdreamer]

Have you got any favorite spices or herbs to go with salmon?

I'm allergic to milk, so I wouldn't use the sour cream combo.

Some suggestions- Set a bunch of redskin potatoes-- WELL SCRUBBED-- to bake in the conventional oven-- enough for the week can be done in the oven at one time, for the same energy costs. Baked spuds can be hollowed out (keep 1/2" shell) and set gently in freezer to make twice-baked potatoes. Do yourself a favor and tuck a glass custard cup- about 1cup size, full of unpeeled garlic cloves and drizzled with oil, in the oven at the same time.

Just before the potatoes are fork-tender, begin prepping Brussels sprouts-- put a lipped cookie sheet out, layer olive oil in the bottom (enough to keep sprouts from sticking) and layer sprouts cut in half, cut side down, to fill tray.

Pop in the oven to broil while working on other prep. Your nose will let you know when they're done. Oh, and make up at least two full meals of these, too.

Scoop out some of the cooked potatoes in big chunks, make your favorite potato salad-- and serve in the shells, hot or cold.

Mash the potato bits scooped out -- a plain fork will do the job when they're oven-baked. Fantabulous mashed with a bit of almond milk, or broth, with fresh-cracked pepper and a bit of tarragon, served with a tiny drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.

But if you're going ALL out for these, amp it up-- Remember that lovely bowl of garlic cloves? They squish right out of the skin and spread like butter. Add as many as you dare to the mashed potatoes, then stir the rest into just enough olive oil to make a spreadable paste. You can find a bazillion uses for garlic this way! (I'd say it lasts a week in the fridge, but ours is generally gone in a day or two.)

Mash potatoes, adding tarragon, chervil, dill, and a dash of cracked pepper, then drain salmon and flake. MINCE an onion--really as fine as you can, about 1/4 the volume of the can of salmon. Add a hefty sprinkle of capers, and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce.

Proceed to form patties, check that the Brussels sprouts are cool enough to eat by sampling a few, and think of a quick second veggie.

A tip that wasn't mentioned- refrigerating formed patties for ten minutes or so helps them keep their shape while frying/sauteeing.

Our family is weird- rotkohl (pickled red cabbage, like a sweet sauerkraut) is a MORE, MORE, MORE item, but you might want to tone it down to something like peas and carrots.

If you break prep time into pre-baking the potatoes, that's a few minutes of scrubbing plus a few minutes of cutting or scooping out shells for later dishes. Extras sit in the fridge to be reheated in the microwave. Maybe 15 minutes' work, total.

Fifteen minutes or less will do the Brussels sprouts, and shape the patties. (The ten minute rest in the fridge is a great time to decompress for the cook.)Frying/plating everything is another fifteen minutes, tops.

So it's a longer process, BUT, salmon cakes /do/ freeze well.

(I've heard rumors. I haven't actually /seen/ a "leftover" in this house since the oldest turned nine.)