So, I feel like I should get a couple of things out there right off the bat. First things first-- I rarely know what I want to eat for dinner. It's an awful curse which leads me to spend more time than necessary deciding on a meal. It's not even a matter of decision really, I just cannot think of what my options are. I become hangry (see also: so hungry I am angry), and my mind just goes blank! It's a terrible cross for a hungry person to bear. Second and lastly, let's face it... I'm really just not a very good cook, but I try. I have all three of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" cookbooks because I have dreams that one day, I can cook something "ambitious" (by my own standards) that I won't have to throw in the trash. I'm a huge fan of cooking shows on The Cooking Channel, and even Chopped. Once that basket of ingredients is revealed, I immediately start playing along at home to devise a meal that would satisfy the sophisticated palettes of Ted Allen and the other judges. If only I could live vicariously through these chefs and actually create delicious, and visually appetizing, meals in my own kitchen, and not just hypothetically. On top of everything, about a year ago I discovered a gluten intolerance, which makes things all the more difficult.
Now that I've got that off my chest, let me move on to Tuesday night's meal. Salmon croquettes! Often when visiting my dad for the weekend, my step-mom would make these. Pronounced incorrectly: SAL-mon croquettes, and we often had them with English peas... which is exactly how I recreated this for my dinner. After a brief chat with my dad on ingredients and the process, off to the grocery store I went (where I was followed by a creepy man, and almost kidnapped) to get my ingredients.
Ingredients:
1 can salmon (I get the kind that comes in the red can, "Bay Beauty Pink Salmon", because that is what my step-mom always used)
1/2 green bell pepper
Depending on the size 1/4-1/2 yellow onion (I used vidalia because they are my favorite)
1 egg
a little bit of flour (I used a gluten-free all-purpose mix)
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Open up your can of salmon because you need to get the bones out. Per my dad's instruction, you do not have to remove all of those tiny little bones because you will not choke on these and die, thankfully. I was genuinely concerned about that. My salmon was in about 4 pieces in the can, and one of them had the spine attached. It was pretty easy to pull out in one piece and just throw away. As mentioned, you do not have to remove all of the the little bones, but as I broke up my salmon with my hands to put into the mixing bowl (mentioned below), I tried to pull out as many as I could- I believe I got most of them. There was also some of the skin on those 4 pieces, and I just peeled that off. WARNING: This part was kind of gross. I wish I took pictures of it so you could see what I mean, but my hands were all fishy, and I really didn't want to be touching my phone.
2. Dice up your onion and bell pepper, and put them into a microwaveable bowl with a little bit of butter. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until soft and cooked a little bit. I used a Pyrex mixing bowl so that I could combine everything here without having to mess up and clean multiple things.
3. Combine salmon and your egg to the already-microwaved diced bell pepper and onion.
4. Add flour a tablespoon at a time until you have a consistency that will hold together in patties. I think I ended up using about 3 tablespoons. Two probably would have been sufficient.
5. Add a bit of salt and pepper. I just ground some in. Better to use too little than too much. You can always sprinkle on some more after you cook them and taste them.
6. Form palm-sized patties and place into a skillet over medium heat where you have already melted a little pat of butter while the pan was heating.
Cook for a couple of minutes and flip. Then cook the other side. You just want them to cook until they have a nice crust, but not too browned.
I served mine with a little bit of ketchup (not pictured) and a side of English peas.
Bon appétit, y'all!
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