For years, I struggled to get my kids to enjoy fish. A proud Maritimer, I love cooking, serving and eating fish and seafood as often as possible, but it was a hard sell on the little ones. Adding bacon as part of a crispy topping in this fish dish worked wonders, but I knew there had to be other ways to train their young palates to appreciate all the delicious nutrition that fish offers. As it turns out, a tasty condiment – mango salsa – was the winning formula. It’s so nice to prepare and eat a meal that the whole family loves, particularly when I know it’s super healthy too.
Ingredients
For the salsa:
1 mango, pitted and diced
1/2 large sweet red pepper, seeded and diced
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup minced chives or green onions
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp Sriracha (or more, per your taste)
For the salmon cakes:
2 cans (approximately 125g each) tinned salmon (drained of any liquid) OR 1 pound cooked salmon, bones removed
2 tbsp red onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup red pepper, minced
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp Sriracha (or to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
For breading:
2/3 cup Panko or other dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
Directions
For the salsa:
In a medium mixing bowl combine the diced fruit and lime juice with the remaining salsa ingredients, and season with salt, pepper and chili sauce to taste – you may not need much if the jalapeno offers enough heat for you.
Salsa can be made up to 3 days ahead, covered and refrigerated.
For the salmon cakes:
In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients for the salmon cakes and mix well.
Shape salmon mixture into small patties (smaller than hamburgers to make them easier to flip) and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Freeze for 30 minutes so they will be firm enough to coat and fry without falling apart.
For the breading:
In a small bowl, combine egg and milk and mix well.
Put flour in another small bowl, put Panko or bread crumbs in a third bowl.
To cook:
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick frying pan.
While pan heats, dredge the chilled salmon cakes in the flour, then dip into egg/milk mixture and finally dredge in breadcrumbs, patting gently to ensure the crumbs adhere.
Fry salmon cakes until well browned on both sides, turning once, very gently. Don’t overcrowd the pan – do in batches if necessary. If doing in batches, place in preheated 300F oven to keep warm while you finish cooking them.
Depending upon the size of your cakes it should take approximately 4 – 6 minutes per side.
Enjoy with salsa or other condiment of your choice.
Note: Once salmon cakes are fried, they can be placed on paper-towel lined plates and refrigerated until cool (if not serving immediately). Once cool, cover with plastic wrap to store in fridge for up to 24 hours. Reheat in a preheated 325F oven for about 10 minutes, until heated through.
Makes 8 large salmon cakes or 14 small ones.
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