A Pantry Staple: Salmon Croquettes

Stuck for a hasty, tasty, and healthful entree? My standby is salmon croquettes. I keep a couple of cans of premium wild Alaskan pink salmon in my pantry. Similar to crab cakes, croquettes are nutritious and also a good way to stretch your grocery dollars.

I learned to make salmon croquettes when I was 18. My recipe and method has changed little through the years. Here it is:

RECIPE

Salmon Croquettes

Serves Three

Ingredients:

  • 1 14.75 oz. can salmon
  • 8-10 saltines, crushed
  • 1 Tbsp. finely chopped onion
  • 1 Tbsp. finely chopped sweet pepper
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

  1. Drain canned salmon of liquid. Bones are optional–leave them in or remove them. (I usually pull them out and eat them before I cook).
  2. Combine drained salmon, crushed saltines, onion, pepper, and egg in a 1 quart bowl or measuring pitcher.
  3. Preheat a large cast iron skillet (or a stainless steel griddle) over medium.
  4. Using your hands, form 9 or 10 small patties of the salmon mixture.
  5. Spray skillet with cooking spray.
  6. Carefully brown both sides of the croquettes, turning them once after about five minutes. (If too browned, reduce heat).
  7. Serve with your choice of vegetables.

 

Salmon croquettes served with steamed broccoli and herbed carrots.

Salmon croquettes served with steamed broccoli and herbed carrots.

3 Comments

Filed under cooking, Fish, Healthful Eating, Salmon

#1 Secret to Successful Stir-fry

#1 Secret to Successful Stir-fry

Use any combination of fresh vegetables plus any protein you choose (chicken, shrimp, beef, tofu) to make a healthful, delicious stir-fry. Here I chose colorful peppers and red cabbage from the produce market, added carrots, celery, and leftover cooked chicken. The sauce is simply a quick whisked combo of soy sauce, freshly grated ginger and garlic, and 1/2 cup broth with a Tbsp. corn starch dissolved in it. I finish with a drizzle of sesame oil and chopped fresh cilantro before serving.

The secret to perfectly cooked stir-fry is not really a secret: Prepare all ingredients before preheating your wok or skillet. That’s it! Stir-fries cook quickly but require constant attention, so you can’t leave it to chop additional ingredients.

Try stir-frying. It’s a flavorful way to add vegetables to your diet. It’s also a great use-up for produce you have on hand that you don’t want to lose.

3 Comments

February 28, 2014 · 9:43 am

Turkey Tetrazzini, anyone?

I hope you’ll check out this recipe posted by my author friend Nancy Cohen. It qualifies as both hasty and tasty! Thanks, Nancy!

http://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com/2014/01/05/turkey-tetrazzini/

 

PS You might want to follow her blog. She often posts about interesting restaurants, travel, food, and writing tips.

1 Comment

Filed under Healthful Eating

2013 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for the Hasty Tasty Meals Kitchen. What a year. Happy new year, everyone!

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 8,400 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Leave a comment

Filed under cooking, Healthful Eating