Pages

Friday, April 18, 2014

Magazine Challenge: Mini Salmon Loaves

So.
Fish is not one of my favourite things.  It is one of J's, though.  I promised a while ago that I would start cooking fish for him more often, and I will when I see it on sale.  When I saw these in the December 2005 issue of Everyday Food, I figured they were worth a shot, and then promptly forgot about them.
In the past couple of weeks, I've been watching Save with Jamie on On Demand.  There are 4 recipes in each episode, and I would like to try most of them!  One thing that he makes every week is a "mothership roast" that can be turned into other entrees during the week.  One episode, he roasted a side of salmon and made a fish pie with the leftovers.  Fish pie doesn't really turn my crank, but one of the things he talked about in the episode was that if you were serving just the meat roasted, buy fresh.  In something where the texture of the fish wouldn't be noticed in the same way, you could use frozen.
When I went to the grocery store, the 3-day sale for fresh salmon was over.  I decided to see how frozen would be.
This was really a huge experiment.  I halved the recipe, probably overcooked the fish, and then couldn't get it to form into patties.  But based on what went into them, and the improvisation that I did, it all worked out.
I present to you now my adaptaion of the December 2005 Everyday Food's Salmon Cakes:


 Ingredients:
1 lb salmon fillets
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 panko
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp mayonaisse
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp lemon juice

For the Sauce:
2 Tbsp mayonaisse
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp chopped dill

Method:
1.  Roast fish at 400F for 15 to 20 minutes.  Let cool, break into smaller pieces and flake with a fork.
2.  In a large bowl, combine green onions, bread crumbs, hot sauce, egg, mustard, mayonaisse, and lemon juice.  Add salmon and stir to coat.
3.  Spoon mixture into mini loaf pans, dividing evenly into 4 portions.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
5.  Whisk all ingredients for the sauce together and serve with the mini loaves.
 Adapted from Everyday Food, December 2005

  So, you know how this looks good?  I roasted the fish, and then put it in the fridge.  I flaked it the next day and it seemed...dry.  Perhaps I roasted it too long.  But I persevered and added the rest of the ingredients.  Then I discovered that it wouldn't hold together in cakes.  The fish was too dry.
So I got out my mini loaf pan and filled 4 compartments.  It was to make 4 cakes, right?
After the time in the oven, things smelled AMAZING.  They looked pretty good too...but I discovered something else...My lifter was too big to fit in the compartments.  So I used a spoon.
It was dry.  And fell apart.  But have no fear!  I have an idea for the great tasting leftovers.  J will love them.  I'll let you know how it goes.

No comments:

Post a Comment