Back in the game

So . . . it's been a while. Eighteen months to be precise. In that eighteen months since I last posted, a lot has happened, but I am now living and working in the Philadelphia suburbs, loving my job and my apartment, meeting great new people and missing Zingerman's terribly. [I know they do mail order, but who wants to pay $12 for a loaf of bread that's been sitting on a FedEx truck for at least 24 hours by the time you get it, when you can mosey into the shop at 9:55 pm and they'll give you one for free?]

Enough of the intro.

Tonight, besides stalking and ultimately failing to kill the Japanese beetle that snuck into my apartment when the screened door was opened (seriously - I can't figure out where it went and I'm worried that it's in my salmon cakes)* I made salmon cakes with a smoky paprika and lemon sauce to celebrate my return.

Now, fish cakes (and their relatives, shrimp, crab, scallop, tuna, , and even bean and tofu cakes) - lets just call them 'dinner cakes' - have always intimidated me. Their structural integrity seemed to rest on some magical balance of wet and dry ingredients that is only attainable through sheer luck. I hate this type of cooking. I made some black bean cakes awhile ago ( a year or more) that my dad said were delicious, but I couldn't eat more than a bite because they kept falling apart while I was trying to cook them, and they took forever to make, and the whole process was so frustrating that the mere sight of them made me sick to my stomach. That, and they looked like turds. It took me months to revisit this genre of entrees.

I learned some things in the mean time, though, which is the important part. First, black bean-based food stuffs look less like fecal matter when they're made from dried, not canned, beans. Second, there is a necessary balance of ingredients, but the rules to achieving this balance are simple and easy to remember (just the kind of rules I like!). [They are also very similar to the rules for making meatloaf, my hands-down second favorite comfort food.]Follow them, and you'll never need a recipe.

You need:

1. A main ingredient.

For dinner cakes, this could be some type of fish or seafood, or bean or bean product, a vegetable, or a lean meat - probably not beef, though (and really, why? Just make a burger.) You could even mix two of these things, if you wanted to get wild (or three! Whoa.) Estimate about 4 to 6 oz of meat per person, 6 to 8 oz vegetables, or 1.5 to 2 oz of dried beans per person (I have no idea what the conversion is in canned beans.)

Some ideas:

Crab (classic), Salmon (see below), other shellfish (shelled)

Beans - any kind (except wax or green.) Dried and cooked hold together better (and look more appealing) than canned. You could also use lentils.

Veggies - potatoes (classic), zucchini, carrots (shredded), mixed mushrooms (mmm. . .). Make sure when using vegetables that you get as much of the water out as possible.

2. A binding agent.

The binding agent works as an adhesive to hold your the cake together, similar to the work that fat does in a burger. It keeps your cakes (or burgers) from crumbling. It is usually eggs (or egg whites alone, which work just as well), or mayo (eggs and oil). In bean or veggie cakes, you can used mushed up beans, thinned with little water or oil, as binder.

3. A breading.

The breading assists the binding agent in holding everything together, by giving it something else to stick to. The breadings that I have used most often are breadcrumbs (duh) and rolled oats. For something a little heavier, you could use matzo meal, or try a grain like pearl barley, bulghur, or rice - or even couscous (see below). Grains add wonderful texture, but might not work as well with more delicate ingredients. You can also use flour, if you're boring.

4. Other stuff - optional.

This includes herbs and spices, veggies, what have you. Use whatever your heart desires. Just make sure that the volume doesn't exceed 1/4 (rough estimate) of the total volume of the other ingredients.

Once you have your ingredients chosen - prep them. Beans need to be cooked first**, same with grains - rice, etc. They should then be cooled to room temp, at least. Thaw any frozen veggies or meats. Chop your veggies and meats/fish, mince herbs and garlic. Squeeze as much water as you can out of your veggies. If you're using eggs or egg whites as a binding agent, beat them.

Add your main ingredient to a large mixing bowl. Add any extra vegetables and seasonings next, and then your binder. Mix thoroughly with your hands. Then add your breading. Mix, again.

In the mix: Wild-caught sockeye salmon, eggs, couscous, spinach.

When it comes to adding the breading/binder, always start small. In my experience, recipes ALWAYS get the amounts wrong. Even if they were kitchen tested, even if I've made this recipe before and these are the exact same amounts of breadcrumbs and eggs that I added the last time and they turned out perfectly, even if they don't get them wrong, they do. Start by adding half as much of each as you think you need. Take a small handful of your mix, roll it into a ball, and flatten it between your palms into a 3/4-inch thick patty. If it falls apart, add more binder or breading. [Hint - if they fall apart because they are runny/sticky, add more breading. If they crumble, add more binder.]

The cakes. The recipe that I was basing this on didn't call for enough eggs. I had to add another.

There are two ways to cook them: saute or bake. I find that if I'm using aromatics (fresh herbs, garlic, etc.), sauteing brings out the best in them. It also gives the cakes a beautiful golden crust that I love. The only downside is that it requires more fat. I usually saute in a light olive or grapeseed oil, which add calories, but also omega-fatty acids and antioxidants.***

Julia Child describes the method for a saute in the following manner: '. . . pat it dry, plop it into a hot pan, and cook it rapidly on one side, and then the other, until it is nicely browned and just done.' (1) To saute the cakes, heat/melt a couple of tablespoons of fat (oil, butter, duck fat or suet if you're fancy) in a skillet, and add the cakes. Don't crowd the pan - the cakes won't cook properly.

Salmon cakes, sauteing in olive oil. The burner was set at about four, high enough to cook the fish, but not so high that the olive oil burned.

Plan on about four minutes per side. The underside of the cakes should be crisp and a warm golden brown. Flip them over and cook for another four to five minutes. [If you've chopped your fish or shellfish into small enough pieces, it will be done by now. If you're worried be extra careful to chop them small.] Remove to a warm oven (150-200ºF) while you cook the rest. You may have to add more oil to the pan; add one to two tablespoons at a time, and remember to let it heat up before adding more of your cakes to the pan.

And, well, that's pretty much it for sauteing.

Baking is even easier, and requires less fat: Preheat your oven to 400ºF. Coat a shallow glass dish (like a Pyrex casserole) lightly with butter or oil. Put your cakes in the dish, and stick them in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until the tops are a golden brown.


On the flip side. The cakes browned nicely.






And that's that. See? No recipe necessary. Here's some outlines that I've come up with/stole, that I'll try in the future, feel free to comment with your own:

• The Classic - Lump Crabmeat, Mayo, Seasoned Breadcrumbs
• Bayou - Shrimp, Mayo, Breadcrumbs, creole seasoning
• Summery - Zucchini, eggs, rice - use garlic, lemon zest for flavor

The recipe that I've accommodated to my own tastes here I found on the internet so long ago that I don't remember where it came from, so I can't give credit where it is due. It's okay, though - the proportions were wrong, so maybe the author doesn't want to take credit. The recipe was called 'Moroccan Salmon Cakes', and what they lacked in authenticity, they made up for in deliciousness. Serious deliciousness. The orange juice added a hint of sweet, the cumin a wonderful smoky heat. I was worried about the spinach, honestly I was - but it was wonderful, and added softness that countered the crumbly-ness of the couscous nicely. The salmon was sweet and meaty - but not fishy. I served them with a smoky paprika and lemon mayo, and haricot vert sauteed with a little lemon juice. The sauce was great, and I loved the paprika, though it did fight with the cumin a little bit. The beans were a fresh, light addition. Beware - these are FILLING. I ate two and had to go for a walk. As long as no one is famished, one per person should be enough. This recipe made 5 cakes.

Dinner. Mmmm.

Here's the recipe:

Moroccan Salmon Cakes with Smoky Paprika and Lemon Mayo

Serves two very hungry people, or five not-very hungry people.

1/2 cup couscous
3/4 cup orange juice (no added sugar, not from concentrate)
12 oz salmon fillet, cut into small chunks (I used wild-caught, but sustainably-fished sockeye salmon from Alaska)
10 oz frozen (then thawed, chopped, and squeezed really really dry) or fresh (then cooked, chopped, and squeezed really really dry) spinach [I used frozen.]
1 egg, beaten - 2 if necessary
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
salt, to taste
3 T olive oil

Bring the orange juice to a boil in a small sauce pan. Add the couscous. Cover, and remove from heat. After 5 minutes, fluff with a fork.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the salmon, spinach, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Add half of the couscous, and then an egg, then a little more couscous . . . (see instructions above.) Form into 3/4-in thick patties.

Heat the olive oil in a pan until water flicked on top sizzles (if it pops - it's too hot.) Add the cakes, and make sure that there is about a half an inch of space on all sides. Press down on them with the back of a spatula to flatten them out a little. After four to five minutes, flip them over. The underside should be browned - as in the picture above. Cook for four to five minutes, then remove to a warm oven. Repeat with remaining patties.

To make the 'sauce', mix a couple of tablespoons of fresh lemon juice with some prepared mayonnaise (or make your own - I'll scoff at you, but out of jealousy, not derision) until you get the taste and consistency that you want. Add 1/2 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika. Drizzle over your salmon cakes, and eat.

These are fantastic reheated, so don't worry if you have some extra - just eat them for lunch the next day.

*No, I got it. It was hiding.
** This seems like a lot of trouble. Dried beans usually need to be washed, soaked over night and simmered for about three hours before they're edible. If I am making something that requires dried beans, I'll usually soak extra, and then freeze the leftover soaked beans in one cup servings. That way, I can just thaw them and cook them - no need to soak next time.
***Actually, I'm lying. Most of the time, I use a full-cream European-style butter, like Presidente. Salted. I do, however, add a little olive or grapeseed oil to the pan with it, because the oil has a higher smoke point than the milk solids in butter, and it keeps the butter from burning. In this recipe, I just used olive oil. My salmon cakes were delicious.

Sources:
(1) Child, Julia. Julia's Kitchen Wisdom. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. 2000. pg 39.