Potato and Salmon Cakes with Ginger and Scallions

I'm pretty comfortable asserting that salmon is in our top three favorite dinner foods around here. I'm not sure what the other two would be (probably this pasta bake, for one. Don't mind the old/awful photos!), but salmon is ALWAYS a hit. Usually I cook it a la Jessica, at How Sweet It Is. It never fails to amaze us!

Last week I was feeling overwhelmed with pinterest and my never-ending list of recipe ideas, so I decided to go old school: BOOKS. OMG. Cookbooks! I guess the timing is right for focusing on books, eh? Since I subscribe to Food & Wine magazine, I was offered some ridiculous deal to buy their annual cookbook for 2013. I think it was like $2 or something! I don't remember. Anyways: I went through the entire book last Sunday night (yes, cover to cover), bookmarking recipes I thought looked good.

So, last week, I made recipes exclusively from the cookbook! Now you'll know WHY my source for a few upcoming recipes is the same! These salmon cakes stood out immediately: we love salmon, we love little savory cakes, and I happened to have a pound of salmon in the freezer that needed to be used.

This recipe takes a little bit of planning — you have to cook the salmon and the potatoes, let them both cool enough to handle, mix everything together, then fry 'em up — but it was well worth the effort. Which really isn't that much active effort anyways. If you wanted to make this super easy, cook the salmon and potatoes the day before and don't worry about assembling the cakes until the day of. That'll cut your time in half, at least!

I served these with plain greek yogurt mixed with dill and lemon juice — it was perfect. Add some pepper if you want to get a little crazy. This recipe makes quite a few, so you'll have leftovers — or enough to serve quite a group!

Potato and Salmon Cakes with Ginger and Scallions

• Author: adapted slightly from Food & Wine Annual Cookbook: 2013
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 lbs medium red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed
• sea salt
• 1 lb salmon fillet
• safflower or sunflower oil, for greasing and frying
• 1 bunch scallions (about 6), chopped
• 3 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• ½ medium onion, minced
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• ½ cup plain dry bread crumbs
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• ¼ cup chopped dill

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and add a pinch of sea salt. Cover, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are tender — about 20 minutes.
3. Drain the potatoes and let them cool until you can comfortably handle them. Peel the potatoes, then transfer them to a large bowl and mash well.
4. While the potatoes are cooking, put the salmon (skin side down if it has skin) on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, and bake until medium-rare on the inside (about 15 minutes).
5. Gently flake the salmon into the mashed potatoes and add ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper, scallions, eggs, ginger, onion, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well, then fold in the bread crumbs.
6. In a heavy skillet, heat ⅛" oil until shimmering. Form the mixture into small patties and fry in batches over moderately high heat until crisp — about two minutes per side. Remove and set on a baking sheet until all remaining patties are cooked.
7. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, and dill. Serve with the patties.

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