Gone Fishin' Salmon Burgers
by Missy Chase Lapine
This recipe is a great way to get your family to eat more omega-3 protein. The oat bran and hidden veggies are a nice bonus, too. If you have time, chill these burgers in the refrigerator for an hour before grilling to make them firmer and easier to handle.
Makes 5 burgers
- 2 egg whites
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
- 1⁄4 cup Orange Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe #2 below)
- 1⁄2 cup plus 3 tablespoons oat bran
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill, or 1⁄2 teaspoon dried
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 12 ounces fresh wild salmon filets, flaked (or 12 ounces canned salmon, drained and flaked)
- 4 hamburger buns or English muffins, preferably whole grain
Preheat an outdoor grill to medium, or heat an indoor grill pan to medium and spray with oil.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites with the lemon juice, Orange Puree, oat bran, Old Bay, fresh dill, and pepper. Add the flaked salmon, mixing with your hands until well combined. If it’s too wet, add a bit more oat bran.
Using damp hands, shape mixture into 5 patties. At this point, the burgers may be prepared a day ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator, or frozen. If you are not freezing for future use, proceed to next steps.
Spray both sides of the salmon burgers with oil and place them on the prepared grill. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
Serve on whole grain buns slathered with Perfect Pesto or No Doc Guac.
Make-Ahead Recipe #2: Orange Puree
- 1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 3 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced into thick chunks
- 2 to 3 tablespoons water
Makes about 2 cups of puree
In a medium-sized pot, cover the sweet potatoes and carrots with cold water and boil for about 20 minutes, until carrots are very tender. If the carrots aren’t thoroughly cooked, they’ll leave telltale little nuggets of vegetables in recipes, which will reveal their presence to your man—a gigantic no-no for the Sneaky Chef.
Drain the sweet potatoes and carrots and put them in the food processor with two tablespoons of water. Puree on high until smooth; no pieces of carrots or potatoes should remain. Stop
occasionally to push the contents to the bottom. If necessary, use another tablespoon of water to smooth out the puree, but the less water, the better.
This recipe makes about 2 cups of puree; double it if you want to store another 2 cups. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or you can freeze 1⁄4-cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.
Missy Chase Lapine is the former publisher of Eating Well magazine. A mother of two young daughters, she knows how picky kids can be—and she’s got the kitchen experiments to prove it! She is on the Culinary Arts facility of The New School, in New York City, and also gives cooking classes and coaching to busy families hoping to learn how to eat healthier. Her book, The Sneaky Chef, is published by Running Press. Her next book The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat on Your Man (In the Kitchen) will be out in April 2008. You can learn more about Missy at her website, www.thesneakychef.com
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