As salmon becomes increasingly popular, it’s easier and easier to find various for how to cook it online. I find that most of these involve Asian flavours, so I’m going to deviate from that a bit here and offer up a fun way to create a variety of different flavour profiles and dishes with your salmon fillet.
Just to start (and then I’ll get off my soap box), if you can, go with wild salmon fillets (I’m using sockeye tonight). They taste much better, and unlike with other fish (e.g. catfish and trout), we still haven’t quite (to the best of my knowledge, which admittedly is limited) figured out the secret to sustainably and responsibly farming salmon. If you have to (or simply want to) go with farmed or canned salmon, that’s okay…but wild is better.
Now, onto the virtues of croquettes! They are essentially a blank canvass for you. You can eat them on their own or even use them as burger/slider patties! Once you’ve decided how to serve them, there’s the simple matter of how to season them and which sauce to pair. This is where your creativity and experimentalism can really shine. I am going with a turmeric and dill aioli tonight, but these would go very well with a sweet chili sauce, bbq sauce, any aioli you can think of (although sriracha aioli, and smoked paprika aioli are particularly good here), a maple dijon glaze, or even a melted herbed butter. So have fun with it!
Tonight’s croquettes are baked instead of fried to make them a bit healthier than their more traditional cousins, and I’m pairing them with Dijon Broccoli Stalks and couscous.
Time: 35 Minutes
Ingredients:
- For the Croquettes
- Salmon (8-10 oz for two people is a good amount)
- 1 Egg
- Bread Crumbs
- Any seasonings you want to add to flavour the croquettes (I used mustard powder and onion powder)
- For the aioli
- Mayo
- Any seasonings you want (I went with turmeric and dill)
- Lemon Juice (optional)
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and boil some water in a large pan (enough to cover your salmon fillet is best. I underestimated the salmon thickness, so I just had to spoon some of the boiling water over the top of the fillet to get it to poach a bit)
- Put your salmon in the water for about 4-5 minutes until it becomes a paler pink, and remove onto a cutting board.
- Flip the fillet so its skin faces up, and peel the skin (should come off easily after poaching). Either discard the skin, or roast it to make it crispy while you cook your croquettes. We never throw the skin away because we don’t want to draw the ire of our two canine companions.
- Transfer to a large bowl, and mash with a fork
- Add in your egg, seasonings, and bread crumbs, and mix everything together until it’s a consistency that can hold together
- Form your croquettes and place them on a lightly oiled, foil lined baking sheet
- Bake for 10-15 minutes, flipping once half way through
- While your croquettes cook, turn your attention to your sauce!
- For aioli, put some mayonnaise in a small bowl, and add your seasonings and lemon juice (if you are using). Stir to combine. Easy enough…sauce is done.
- Remove your croquettes from the oven.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
