Sunday dinner: salmon patties with rice

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This is based on a recipe I found online, and I adapted it to our tastes. It serves about five people.

1 large (14.5-oz) can wild pink salmon
1 egg
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced green bell pepper
1.5 tsp baking powder
3 TBS soy sauce
enough oil to fry with (I used canola oil for this)

(First, start cooking the rice*)

Open canned salmon and drain liquid. Place salmon in a large mixing bowl and mash well with a fork (be sure to mash all those bones! this is a great non-dairy calcium dish.) Add egg, onions, and bell peppers, and mix. Add flours and mix again.

Meanwhile, in heavy skillet, add enough oil to very generously coat bottom of pan. Heat to medium/high (when a drop of water flicked into the oil sputters, it's ready).

In separate small bowl, quickly whisk together soy sauce and baking powder together, then pour into large bowl with the other ingredients. Mix well. Scoop out egg-sized portions of this mixture and flatten them between your palms to about 1/2-inch thickness. Carefully transfer them to the hot pan (they will stick to your hands a bit). Fry until golden brown on the bottom, then flip with a spatula and fry until the other side is golden brown too. Transfer cooked patties to a large plate lined with a paper towel. I usually need to fry two or three batches like this, and inn between batches, I remove any stray bits of food from the oil (so they don't get burnt) and replenish the oil in the pan.

Serve with a couple scoops of steamed rice (for the purist) and additional soy sauce (for the soy sauce fan). :-)

* For the rice:

2.5 cups rice of your choice
approx. 4.5 cups water

Measure rice into medium/large lidded pot. Rinse about three times with fresh running water, stirring it with your fingers each time. Drain as much water as you can from the pot (some will remain). Add cooking water and place lid on pot. Heat on high until bubbles just begin to form (I always use glass-lidded pots for cooking rice, for this very reason), then immediately turn heat down to a simmer or just below a simmer. Cook until all water is absorbed (you can take a sample to make sure it's the way you want it), then turn off heat and let rice sit undisturbed until the rest of the cooking is done.

Enjoy!

God bless,
Mrs. Bear