Salmon Burgers

Hello again! I know, I've been missing in action for a while now, but I should be able to dedicate my free time to blogging again. We survived a family round of colds, including my little one's first. We traveled home to visit family in Maine for the holidays and got to experience a week of true winter that we've missed being in California - we arrived on the first night of freezing rain that began a doozy of an ice storm that knocked out our power for the rest of our week-long visit! It was a beautiful winter wonderland with everything covered in ice, and then we got a pretty layer of fluffy snow on top of it for Christmas. The power was restored to our family's home promptly after we returned to California, where we enjoyed sunshine and mid-60-degree weather to chase away our jet lag. 

Now, to celebrate my return to the blogosphere, I've decided to share with you an original recipe of mine that is really quick and easy to make, and so yummy. These salmon burgers even make good leftovers!

Start with about one pound of salmon (if you purchase it with the skin, get closer to 1.5 pounds to allow for the weight of the skin you will remove). Grind the salmon if you have a grinder, otherwise just chop it as finely as you can. Add the zest of one lemon, a healthy sprinkle of dried parsley, two grated cloves of garlic, and a dash of crushed red pepper flakes to taste. 

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and divide into four or five equal portions. I generally make five, but if you ended up losing more when removing the skin you may decide to make four.

Shape each ball into a patty and place on a hot skillet. I use one with raised grill lines, but a flat one would do the trick. Leave the patties alone until they are mostly cooked, so that only the very top is uncooked, then flip them and allow them to finish cooking on the second side. If you try to move them around more than this, they will fall apart on you, so resist the urge. 

This is why I really like the grill-skillet, you get these lovely lines on the finished burgers.

Serve with your favorite toppings - mine are fresh spinach and a nice thick slice of heirloom tomato - and enjoy!

Now here's the handy recipe for you:

SALMON BURGERS

1-1.5 pounds salmon, skin removed, ground or finely chopped

Zest of one lemon

2 cloves garlic, grated

Dried parsley to taste

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

4 or 5 sandwich buns and your favorite toppings

Combine all ingredients. Divide into 4-5 equal portions. Preheat a skillet, shape each ball into a patty and place on hot skillet. Allow to cook most of the way through before flipping to cook on the second side. Serve with your favorite toppings on lightly toasted buns. 

Enjoy!                                            

Sue