Super simple Wednesday lunch. Sockeye Salmon Burgers.

Am I the only one who is sad that most people seem to have gotten over publishing Facebook pictures of every meal they eat? 

But once in a while my true friends will make a point to tell me what they made for dinner. 

(Because they know that I am always interested in what's for dinner.)

Two separate emails yesterday, from two separate friends, mentioning two fantastic dinners.  One lobster, and the other steak!  Not too shabby for a Tuesday.  (OK, to be fair, they each had bona fide occasions to celebrate.)

Just the same, I was feeling a little sorry for us regular, non-celebrating folk on a regular, time-crunched, post-ride Tuesday night.  Even though we had a pretty awesome dinner ourselves.  Pan fried salmon, with mustard, lemon, and dill.

Confession time.  I am not a salmon fan, especially not farm-raised.  (And certainly not any salmon labeled so enticingly as "color enhanced through feed".) 

But, for a few weeks a year, Publix gets in fresh Sockeye Salmon from Alaska.  If you are going to eat salmon in Florida, July is the time to do it.

On Tuesdays, we usually get home sometime after 8pm.  Dinner by 9 is the norm.  And even the ever-hungry Popeye has a minimal appetite right after a super-hard, super-sweaty, summer Tuesday night ride.  Often half of any big dinner goes straight onto the Tupperware for another day.  Which is fine with me - because that ends up as easy lunch prep for me on Wednesday.  

 

 

 

Wednesday Lunch

Super Simple Sockeye Salmon Burgers

1 fillet (approximately 6-8 oz.) chilled, cooked salmon
1 egg
2 T. finely chopped onion
1 T. deli mustard
1 hard squeeze of lemon (about a tablespoon of lemon juice)
salt, pepper, dill  -  to taste
2 T. Italian style panko
1 T. grated Parmesan
1 -2 T. Mayo (optional)
light-tasting olive oil for frying

Makes 2-3 medium burgers.

Flake the cooked salmon into a bowl.  Add everything but the mayo and mix well. 

Mash the salmon up as much or as little as you like.  I like to leave it a little lumpy, kind of the same way I like crab cakes.  But if you like a finer texture (or maybe you just had a bad day), then by all means, mash away.

Here's where the mayo comes in.  I experimented with it both ways: stirring mayo into the mixture, and also leaving it out for a few less calories. 

I liked the salmon burger without the mayo a little better.  But  then, I like meaty-chunky-crispy.  If you like a smoother, more paste-like texture, add the mayo, and mash it fine before pan-frying.

Form the mixture into 2-3 burgers.  Fry lightly in a skillet with a bit of light olive oil, 2-4 minutes on a side. 

 

2 small burgers without mayo, at top.

One larger burger with mayo added, at bottom. 

Hard to tell any difference until you taste them.

 

 

Because all the ingredients are already cooked except the egg, which cooks fast, you really don't need to cook it long.   I like mine dark-brown/crispy, so tend to let it go a little longer than strictly necessary to cook it through.

That's it.  Make a drizzle of equal parts hummus and lemon juice and serve it with a handful of last night's leftover salad. 
 

Two half-burgers for my taste test.

And yes, I went back for seconds.

 

Best Wednesday lunch all week. 

No color enhancement necessary.