Salmon Croquettes

I haven't made fish in a while, possibly since the last time I posted a fish recipe in October.  A slice of lox here and there doesn't count.  You know the guilt is kicking in when you start to add a pinch of chia seeds to one meal a day.  Gotta get those Omega-3s somewhere.

I was originally going to make something with a mammal.  I'd been having vegetarian for a while.  Then I started thinking of what I needed to use out of the garden and what I was in the mood for, and I still kind of wanted vegetarian.  Fish is close enough.

What surprised me (as I was Googling recipes in the grocery store) is that pretty much all recipes for salmon croquettes use canned salmon and very few other ingredients.  (Spring for the boneless version; I picked an entire spine out of mine.)  What I made here is considerably more complex in flavor profile than most, mainly because I don't like creamy sauces on fish and was only planning on squeezing a lemon.  It isn't common to put mayo in them, and only half the recipes use an herb other than onion.  This is simple comfort food, despite sounding French and difficult.

The oats are my own thing.  I've used rolled oats as binder before, and wanted to see what would happen with steel-cut.  They worked well enough, but aren't an end-all to making the recipe successful.  If you replace both the crumbs and the oats with matzoh meal and the butter with oil, this recipe is pareve KLP.

1 large can (currently 14.5 oz) pink salmon
*1 slice bread or 1/2 C panko bread crumbs
*2 Tb steel-cut oats (or another slice of bread)
*1/4 C minced onion
*1/4 C finely diced herbs such as parsley, dill, and/or cilantro
*1 Tb mayonnaise
1 egg
Dash white pepper
Butter for frying
Lemons and tartar sauce for serving

1.  A few hours before, stir 1/4 C boiling water into the steel-cut oats.  Allow to sit one hour at room temperature, then move to the fridge until needed.  Allow the bread to get stale.  Run through the food processor to make breadcrumbs.

2.  You can stir the rest together in a bowl.  I figured the food processor was already dirty and tossed in everything except the salmon.  Then you don't have to chop things as much.  Fold this mix into the salmon until thoroughly mixed.

3.  Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Because I didn't put any salt in the batter, I used margarine.  Spoon mixture onto skillet to make cakes of desired size.  If these are appetizers or hors d'oeuvre, make them smaller than you would if two or three are supposed to be a main dish.

4.  Cook until golden on the bottom, about 5 minutes.  The salmon is pre-cooked, so you're just making sure the egg is done.  Gently flip the cakes, as they will be fragile.  Flatten slightly and cook until the other side is golden, another 2 minutes.  Remove to a warm plate and re-butter skillet for the next round.  Repeat until all the mix is fried.

5.  Serve warm with lemon wedges and tartar sauce.

Serves 4 as a main course, 12 as appetizers

Difficulty rating  π