I know this chapter is “Just Like Mom Makes,” but this is actually one of my dad’s specialties. With his culinary repertoire being limited to meatloaf, pot roast, salmon cakes, and any breakfast food, we were guaranteed to have these whenever Mom was out of town. Good thing we liked them. These are very similar to crab cakes, but since salmon is about one sixth of the cost of crabmeat we have them a lot more often.
Recipe information
Yield
serves 4
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 2
Cut each potato into 8 wedges and arrange on a baking sheet. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil over the potatoes and toss until completely coated. Season with salt and bake for 30 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Step 3
Meanwhile, drain the salmon and place in a large bowl. Finely chop 3 cloves of the garlic and add to the bowl. Add the egg, cilantro, 1/2 cup of the lemon juice, and the breadcrumbs and toss until combined. Form the mixture into 4 patties. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the patties. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.
Step 4
Finely chop the remaining garlic clove and place in a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise and the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and stir until combined.
Step 5
Place a salmon cake on each plate, top with some of the mayonnaise, and serve hot with potato wedges on the side.
Bargain Shopper
Step 6
Although it is basically free to make breadcrumbs from old bread or buns that you were going to throw away anyway. I do it because I never seem to have breadcrumbs when I need them and I’m too lazy to go to the store. Simply dry the bread completely by either laying it out on a baking sheet for a couple of days or putting it in the oven at 200°F for about an hour. Then you can chop it up in the blender a little at a time until the crumbs are fairly fine. Or use the I-need-them-right- now method: toast the bread, let it cool completely, and then crumble it up into little pieces. For this recipe, the breadcrumbs can be a little chunky. Extra breadcrumbs can be stored in a resealable bag for several months.
