Thank you if you tuned in to WAMC’s Food Friday a couple weeks ago! I had so much fun in the studio talking about…chicken. If you didn’t tune in, let me tell you, 95% of the calls that came in were about chicken! There were so many things host Ray Graf and I wanted to talk about in more detail, but we didn’t get to it. Nevertheless, a lot of fun and maybe they’ll have me back?!

Some of you have contacted me for recipes. I’m sharing the recipe for the salmon sliders that I brought to Food Friday. I make these as salmon cakes/burgers for clients ALL THE TIME and they love them. You can also make them as sliders (shown here), which are great for a parties. Enjoy!

SALMON CAKES (OR SLIDERS)

Ingredients: ( Makes 4 salmon burgers or 8-10 sliders)

1 pound fresh, skinless salmon chopped into a small dice (I strongly recommend a fatty salmon for this recipe, and remove any bones!)

2 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup finely minced onion

3 TBS finely minced celery

3 TBS finely minced red pepper

2 TBS capers

1 TBS lemon zest

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS minced scallion

2 cloves finely minced garlic

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs DIVIDED (plain or seasoned is fine)

1/2 tsp Old Bay

1 tsp Dijon mustard

3-4 TBS oil for frying – whatever oil you prefer for pan frying

1. Sautee onion, celery, and red pepper over medium heat until soft. Turn heat down if vegetables start to turn burn or get crispy edges.
2. Add capers to the pan, crush them slightly to release juices, and cook for another minute. Turn off heat and let cool.
3. Place the chopped salmon in a non-reactive bowl. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, raw garlic, scallions, mayo, HALF of the bread crumbs (1/4 cup), dijon mustard, Old Bay seasoning, some fresh ground black pepper, and the cooled, sauteed vegetables.
4. Mix well, cover with plastic and let sit in refrigerator for 1-4 hours.
5. Remove from fridge and form into four cakes (like a burger patty), or 8-10 smaller patties for sliders. Place remaining ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs on plate, and gently place salmon cake in bread crumbs and turn over for a light coating. These are NOT supposed to be heavily BREADED, it’s just a light coating to help the outside get crisp while cooking.
6. Pan fry over medium heat in a non-stick pan in your choice of frying oil. A neutral oil is great, but olive oil will work too. Heat should be high enough for a sizzle when the salmon cakes hit the pan, and for bread crumbs to turn golden brown, but not so hot that the bread crumbs start to burn and turn black. Add more oil as needed if working in batches.
7. Place on paper towel lined plate when you remove from pan.

Serve with a salad and/or vegetable for a great lunch or dinner. On Food Friday I served them as sliders on a roasted potato “bun” with a ramp aioli and microgreens.

Enjoy!