EASY SALMON FISHCAKES

Reality: Either it’s a classic case of I-bought-salmon-then-left-it-in-the-fridge-for-a-little-too-long, or buying a pre-packed fillet of salmon that turned out to be not fresh enough for plain grilling. That’s normal, especially if you’re an ambitious working gal who thinks she’ll cook the week away but ended up never having the time to (read=me).

In cases like these, what should we do with that salmon? Here’s a recipe for salmon fishcakes, which, when mixed with other great flavor combination, makes the whole thing taste great with no weird extra-fishy smell. Poaching the salmon makes sure the fishcakes grill easier, and mixing it with a medley of peppers, onion and carrot makes it healthy too.

This recipe makes 6 fishcakes

What You Need:
1 salmon fillet
½ yellow capsicum, chopped
½ red capsicum, chopped
½ carrot, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard (or any mustard, really)
1 tbsp. mayo
½ tsp. whole black peppercorns
1 egg

What You Do:

1. Poach the salmon fillet first. Use a pan/pot, cover the salmon with water (skin side down), crushed black pepper and some salt, and bring to the boil. When the water boils, wait for 30 seconds, then turn off the heat and let the fish sit in the hot water for 5 minutes.
2. In another pan, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil, and sautee the onions, peppers and carrot until everything is tender and kind of translucent. Transfer into a large bowl.
3. Remove fish from pan. Wait to cool, then flake it using a fork.
4. To the onions, peppers and carrot, add the breadcrumbs, egg, mustard, mayo and salt.
5. Crush the peppercorns and add to the mix. It’s important to have some coarse-grained black pepper in the mix.
6. Add salmon flakes. Mix them, but don’t overdo it. You want to salmon flakes to remain as large chunks for better texture.
7. Make patties out of them. If freezing, make sure there is plastic between each patty so they don’t stick.
8. Grill over a pan on high heat glazed with a little olive oil.
9. Serve with a simple spinach salad, and any dips of choice (I prefer ranch or ketchup)
10. Use the leftover patties for a sandwich too! 

**It's also smart to use your observation when mixing. Start small, and if it's too runny, add more breadcrumbs.