Busy moms everywhere, this meal was created with you in mind! What I mean is that it’s made of leftovers…but you’ll get no complaints because nobody will be any the wiser.
We had an extra 3-4 servings of salmon sitting in our fridge this weekend day…after day…after day. I had already served it twice as-is, and I knew nobody wanted to see those salmon fillets on their plates again.
Yet, like every day, I needed to come up with a hot lunch to serve that would please everyone.
Suddenly, I thought “why not try making salmon patties?”
Maybe it’s not such a novelty, but I didn’t grow up making or eating these. And even in all my years since becoming a foodie, somehow I’ve never attempted cooking salmon patties.
All it took was a few ounces of almond flour, 3 eggs, 2 tsp of turmeric, and a shake of salt and pepper.
First, I smashed those forgotten and rejected fillets with a fork until totally shredded and mashed up.
The salmon had been cooked with a generous handful of garlic cloves, as well as carrots, which both added to the great flavor.
And because I know I might be asked- yup, I mashed the salmon skin right up with everything else!
In terms of swaps, you can definitely experiment with using canned salmon if that’s what you have on-hand.
Then, I combined the salmon with all the other additions. Now, the frying step is partially what determines how well these hold together. How well the patties hold together is what fools people into thinking these are really patties, and gives them that addictive fried crunch.
So, my best advice is to use a cast iron skillet, which is a great option besides because it’s cheap, nontoxic, and lasts forever. With cast iron, your “cooking hygiene” (such a funny expression, but true) needs to be stepped-up from when you’re using other materials. So, you need to heat the cast iron for a minute or two over the fire.
Then, you pour in some avocado oil for frying.
Then you WAIT until the oil is hot! You’ll know it’s hot enough if, when you spoon in some batter, the oil sizzles. You don’t want it to splatter everywhere, though, which is actually dangerous. This is why I always turn down the heat to the lowest, before adding my ingredients into the hot pan to fry.
Spoon in the batter, flatten it to resemble a circle. I’m sure yours will come out neater than mine because I was rushing against time to get this meal churned out.
By the way, most of my patties closely mimicked a puddle in shape. The few that turned out handsome were the ones I chose to photograph, but even the halved ones are that way because their original shape was not fit to be shown!
Once these are browned on the first side, flip them over with a spatula.
Three ways this dish pays off:
- Your kitchen will smell delicious
- You’ll feel like an accomplished chef for making an unusual dish with such little effort
- You’ll also feel like a superhero for successfully concealing leftovers.
- Oh, and everyone is fed.
My toddler ate these for lunch, and then proceeded to waddle around snacking on these during the afternoon as well.
Who says babies need candy? I must confess I take pride in a chubby little cheek with a turmeric stain.
Leave comments with feedback- and if you cook these, I’d love to see it, so tag me on instagram @yourwholesomechild!
