Salmon Patties with Quick Pickled Slaw and Spicy Mayo

It is really hard for me to actually decide what I want to eat, I rarely have a craving for things so I end up buying things I don’t really want to eat right away. I shop almost every day to get what I want for dinner that evening and breakfast the next morning but I can’t do that now so I bought things I had to put in the freezer; before now, I had smoothie fruit, beer glasses and giant ice cubes in my freezer….

I bought a rather large piece of salmon from Costco and made one piece fresh, reluctantly put the rest in the freezer. Long story short, I ended up defrosting it on a day I didn’t want to eat it so I seasoned it and threw it in the oven at 425 for ~20 minutes, cooled it and put it in the fridge for later (I hate to waste food). This is how this recipe was born, I love crab cakes so why couldn’t I use salmon?!?

Note: I won’t lie, my husband asked “do we have cereal as plan B?”. He thinks he is funny.

This is what you will need for ~4 normal sized patties:

• 2 cups cooked and flaked salmon (I seasoned with salt and pepper when I cooked it and made sure the pieces were really small)
• 1 cup binding agent plus more for coating later (see note)
• 1/4 red bell pepper (diced very small)
• 1 green onion sliced down the middle and sliced thin (~halfway up the green part too)
• 1 heaping tbsp minced chives (you can use fresh or dried)
• 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
• 2 tsp spices (I used Italian seasoning that has an amalgam of spices or you can use anything you like such as parsley, dill, oregano, etc. mix however you want)
• a heavy pinch of salt and pepper (I used the Borsari savory salt I put on everything)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1.5 tbsp mayo
• 1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/2 lemon zested and squeezed
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Note: I used the Keebler Club crackers I had in my drawer but you can use just about anything like panko, potato chips, pork rinds (for low carb), saltines, regular bread crumbs (but I would use seasoned for this), or any seasoned cracker. Just make sure they are crushed really well and don’t have any large pieces.

I mixed the salmon, binding agent, bell pepper, green onion, chives, garlic, and spices in a bowl. Then, in a separate bowl, I mixed together the salt and pepper, egg, mayo, garlic, lemon juice and zest plus the olive oil then I combined the two making sure it was evenly combined.

I portioned them out into four patties, really pressing them together so they didn’t fall apart then rolled them in some extra binding to give the outside some “crunch”; this is in addition to the 1 cup you put in the mixture. I put in the fridge to firm up while I made the slaw:

What you will need for the slaw (but you can use anything you have like cucumber, red onion, daikon, kohlrabi, radish, etc.):

• 1 cup of green cabbage, sliced thin
• 1 cup of red cabbage, sliced thin
• 1 cup of shredded carrots
• 4 peeled and shaved radishes
• 1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Put the vinegars, salt and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. While that is getting to temp, slice the vegetables and place in a glass or metal bowl. When the liquid comes to a boil, pour over the vegetables and stir to combine; set aside.

The cakes can sit in the fridge as long as you want, just make sure it is at least 20 minutes. Place 2 tbsp of oil in a pan and heat For maybe 3 minutes at medium high heat, this is where your choice of oil is important. Grape seed oil has a very subtle and clean taste with a very high smoke point so it is pretty forgiving, this is the oil I use mostly but you can use olive oil also. I wouldn’t use vegetable, corn or canola oil but you can if that’s what you have.

When the oil is ready, place the patties in the pan and let sit (undisturbed) for maybe 3 minutes then turn over when brown and cook on the other side until brown and warmed through. Remove to a plate let sit for a few while you make the mayo:

What you will need for the mayo:

• 1/4 cup mayo
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 3/4 tsp soy sauce

That’s it, mix together and put in a bottle to “drizzle” or you can place in a ziplock bag and snip the corner so you an squeeze over the cakes.

To serve the slaw, just pull from the bowl and drain well before plating. Place a handful on the plate with the patties and drizzle with the mayo. I sprinkled over additional chives and some cilantro over the slaw. That’s it, enjoy!