Leftover salmon makes me think of my Mom, which sounds strange even as I am writing this. But the reason this happens is that even though she was a fish-hater she loved salmon and made it for dinner a lot. She also bought canned salmon (“only buy red salmon” she always instructed).
We usually ate up the fresh fish at dinner. The canned salmon was for latkes. She made those once a week, at least.
Her salmon latkes were awesome. I’ve made them a zillion times. It’s a good way to use up leftover salmon (although canned is fine. The red kind of course!)
I’ve branched out though, and don’t always make my Mom’s recipe. Recently I also had some Yukon Gold potatoes in the bin and wanted to use those up. So I made salmon latkes with potatoes. And threw in some baby spinach, just for fun.
So, Mom, this month would have been your birthday and I am thinking of you and making salmon latkes. Wish you could taste these.
Salmon, Potato and Spinach Cakes
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes
8 ounces cooked salmon (2 cups mashed)(canned is fine)
1 cup packed baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
2 large eggs
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
2 chopped scallions
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2/3 cup panko
vegetable oil
Cut the potatoes into chunks and cook them in lightly salted boiling water for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes. When they potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them and mash the flesh in a bowl. Add the salmon and spinach and mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Add the eggs, breadcrumbs, scallions, lemon juice, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika, and cayenne pepper and mix the ingredients to distribute them evenly. Shape the mixture into 4-6 patties, about one-inch thick. Press the patties into the panko, to coat both sides. Heat about 1/4-inch vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the patties for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown and crispy.
Makes 4-6