The most amazing way to eat fish EVER!

This summer upon moving to Seattle I got a library card. This does not sound that out of the ordinary...but it took me over a year to get a library card in New Haven and I NEVER got one in Chicago. I did pretend to be Tom's sister Jess and I signed up for an Evanston card in her name. I think there might be a few fines on there from student teaching. Oops. So beyond having to convince the library dude that even though I was not officially Amy Hodgman yet (I am now!!) he should let me use that as my name...it was remarkably easy. In my excitement, I took out a few cookbooks so I could copy down some new recipes. I can't remember what book this recipe came from, but I can tell you that the recipe is unbelievable. Here is a picture just to get you salivating.

 

The recipe is for salmon cakes with an orange-miso dipping sauce.

What you need for the Orange-Miso sauce:

1 T orange juice

1 T orange zest

1 T lemon juice (I didn't have any this time...and I just did double orange juice and it was GREAT, so I don't think it's a big deal)

1 T lemon zest

1/2 cup mayonaise

2/3 cup sour cream

1 T white miso paste (the past two or three times I have made this recipe I did not have this miso paste and I just used soy sauce and I swear there was little to no difference in taste. I finally found it in the refrigerated section of our PCC. Also I know Whole Foods has it because I saw it in West Hartford. Also my mom has it in her fridge if you live near her!)

How to make the Orange-Miso sauce

Mix all ingredients together and then chill. Sooooooo difficult I know.

What you need for the Salmon Cakes:

1 lb skinless salmon fillet cut into 1/4 inch dice. (This time I used 1.3 pounds because I wanted more than enough left overs. I think probably 1.5 pounds is the most before you need to change the proportions a bit)

1/2 cup FINELY chopped red pepper (the smaller you chop it, the easier your life will be making the cakes)

1/4 chopped scallion (white and green parts)

1/4 cups minced cilantro (YUM)

1/2 T ginger (minced) - This time we were out and I chopped up some pickled ginger...like the kind you put on sushi. It tasted fine!

1 1/3 cup of panko flakes (1/3 cup is for the cakes....1 cup is for breading)

1 large egg beaten (before you add it to the stuff)

1 T sesame oil

1 T soy sauce

Lemon and lime wedges (for spraying on top of the cooked cakes)

1/3 cup (I swear you will need more) canola oil - for frying.

 

How to make the Salmon Cakes

1. Chop up all of the salmon. My fillets came with the skin on so I also had to take off the skin. When Tom did this he butchered the entire thing. I gently cut a bit of the skin off (with the skin side UP on the cutting board) and then I just sort of pulled and the skin peels right off.

2. In a bowl mix the chopped salmon, red pepper, scallion, cilantro, ginger, 1/3 cup panko flakes, beaten egg, sesame oil and soy sauce. Mix it all around. Use a spoon or else the cilantro will stick to your hands and be annoying.

 

3. In a frying pan heat the canola oil over medium/high heat until it's sizzling.

4. Dump about 1 cup of panko flakes onto a plate (you will dip the cakes in there). You might need more.

5. With your hands (or some magic contraption if you have one), grab a small palm full of salmon mixture and make it into a ball. Plop the ball into the plate of panko flakes and flatten a bit to coat. Then flip over (it gets messy...just deal with it) and coat the other side. Put the cake into the frying pan. Fry about 3 minutes and then flip and do about 3 minutes on the other side. You want a golden brown. At this point I'd turn your heat down a little bit or else you might burn the cakes.

 

6. Put finished cakes onto a plate with a paper towel.

7. Squeeze a lime wedge over cake. Smother with dipping sauce and enjoy.

We ate ours with cous-cous this time, but that was only because it was leftover. I'd say a light salad would go best.

Simple and Super Salmon

Last night we had the best salmon we have eaten in a long time. I don't know if it's because we now are yuppies and shop at the PCC for organic salmon (I tend not to think that this makes a difference), or if it was just the recipe.

It was a recipe from Real Simple that I tore out when I was back in CT. It was also so good that I ate it so fast that I couldn't take a picture!

What you need to make this:
- At least on pound of salmon (we made 1.5 pounds) - Ideally already with the skin removed, but I'm not sure it truly matters. I was able to remove the skin QUITE well if I do say so myself.
- Cilantro (big bunch - enough for 1/2 a cup chopped)
- One lemon (ok here Tom and I do agree that the organic ones are just so much juicier than the non-organic ones that we feel we have been missing out for years.)
- Scallions (3-4) chopped
- A few tablespoons of olive oil
- Cous-cous (and by default....broth to cook the cous-cous with)

How to make this:
1. Chop up the scallions and the cilantro.
2. In a bowl mix the juice of one lemon with the scallions and cilantro and two tablespoons of olive oil. Stir it all up and set aside.
3. Remove the skin from your salmon (I did this with a combination of cutting and pulling)
4. Make your cous-cous (I made the whole box and I made it with chicken broth for flavor)
5. In a frying pan add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. On both sides of your salmon (Unless one side has skin) sprinkle a little bit of salt, pepper, and paprika. When the pan is hot add the salmon. Cook about 3-4 minutes per side. This obviously depends on how fat your salmon is. Our skinnier pieces were done in about 8 minutes and our giant ones took 10-12 minutes.
6. Put the cous-cous and salmon the plate. Drizzle with the lemon/oil/cilantro/scallion sauce.

One last plug for lemons...I almost wrote an entire post about how much I adore organic lemons. Seriously they juice amazingly and have less seeds and are all around worth the money. I squeezed the heck out of mine and then I proceeded to eat what was left (yep mom...I still eat lemons! So much for my tooth enamel).