salmon ideas

The season of Lent has just began, starting off with Ash Wednesday this week. I have always practiced abstinence from meat but I don't really get into serious fasting because I still eat no matter what : ) and that's more like "fast eating" than fasting, as the old joke goes. The food photos above show a couple of salmon ideas I like to make for our meatless Fridays. We've been having fish and vegetables on Fridays for awhile now, so no menu adjustments need to be done. The first two photos are salmon cakes with a simple remoulade made with some mayo, finely chopped fresh tomatoes and mustard. For the salmon cakes, I just use canned salmon (remove the skin first) and mix it up with some breadcrumbs, pepper, very little salt (canned salmon can be salty), minced celery, minced onion, finely minced garlic (optional), a few drops of hot pepper or tabasco sauce, a little mayo & mustard combination. Then I just make sure that the mixture will hold together when I compress it. If not, I add a little more mayo and test the mixture again. Extra breadcrumbs may be pressed to the cakes. They may be refrigerated for a few hours. This actually keeps them from falling apart. Pan-fry in some olive oil until golden brown. Serve with the remoulade. For the third photo, salmon fillet was used and topped with a dressing mixture of fresh lemon juice, mayo (optional), mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper. I added a few fresh tomato slices on top for garnish. The fillet was baked just until opaque for about 20 minutes (cooking time will vary depending on thickness of the fish) at 375F, then broiled during the last few minutes of cooking to lightly brown the top. Served with steamed vegetables and orzo pasta. Lenten meatless meals are more enjoyable when served with a colorful mix of vegetables and presented in an attractive way. There are countless salmon ideas but these are just two of my favorites.