Hey. You guys. Guess what?
I have a sort of fabulous recipe to share with you today. Yes, it’s another salmon recipe, but this one is different! It’s a salmon cake. Not like sugary, bakery cake. Because that would just be gross and wrong to put salmon in, but little salmon patties – yeah, that’s a better word – mixed with other yummy stuff, like sun-dried tomatoes, and topped with a lemon-dill aioli.
Now, I had to make some adaptations to the recipe I used for this, because mashed potatoes do not a healthy salmon cake, make. Ya feel me? I love me some mashed potatoes, but they are a rare treat and not meant for these little babies. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking the use of mashed potatoes, as they are definitely a good binder for a recipe such as this, it just wasn’t the appropriate method for us. Nope, nope, nope. Plus, J might divorce me if I tried to sneak that into dinner. Ok, not really, but he wouldn’t be a fan of it. He was a fan of the adapted version though, for sure.
We ate a good bit of seafood on our honeymoon, but I don’t see things like this on menus to often. Crab cakes, yes, but I’m not really a fan of those. Salmon cakes…notsomuch on menus, but they should be. But I guess that’s why I cook at home 99% of the time, right? Because I can make the menu whatever I want it to be!! These are definitely restaurant-worthy, so you could make them for your family or a little dinner party and treat your guests to a fancy salmon dinner, without the fancy price tag!! Or you could make them and treat yourself and not share. That’s always an option, too.
But whatever you decide to do…share or keep them to yourself…do it soon! You won’t be disappointed!
Salmon Cakes with Lemon-Dill Aioli
Adapted from Cooks with Cocktails
Ingredients
- 2 salmon fillets (4-6 oz each)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg*
- ¾ cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
- 2-3 green onions, chopped
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dill, chopped
For the Lemon-Dill Aioli
- ¾ cup mayo or miracle whip
- ¼ cup dill chopped
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 tsp lemon juice
*If you feel like the mixture is too “loose” feel free to add a second egg to better bind and hold the mixture together.
Preparation
- Combine the ingredients for the aioli in a small bowl, mix well, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add olive oil. Season salmon with salt and pepper and place in the skillet, skin-side down if the skin is still on. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then flip. If you are using skin-on salmon, use tongs to gently remove the seared skin from the salmon fillets. Cook the flipped side for 2-3 minutes and then flip again. At this time, use a spatula to start breaking the salmon into pieces. Once broken into smaller pieces, allow to cook through until opaque, set aside and allow to cool.
- Meanwhile, combine the egg, sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, lemon juice, garlic and dill in a medium bowl. When the salmon has cooled some, add it to the bowl, along with the Panko. Use hands to mix well and then form into 4 (or 6 if you want them smaller) equal sized patties.
- Using the same skillet as you cooked the salmon in, add more olive oil if necessary and heat over medium heat this time.
- Gently add the patties to the skillet and cook for 3-5 minutes, until nicely browned and slightly firm on the underside, then very gently flip with a spatula to cook the other side until browned and the patties are firm enough to not fall apart if you try to move them.
- Serve with a generous helping of the lemon dill aioli and your favorite veggie side. we had broccoli-apple salad with ours!
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