Although it snowed yesterday, spring is almost upon us. The primroses are coming up, and it’s time to finish eating last season’s frozen fish. We need freezer space for the fresh catch that will soon start arriving.
A couple nights ago I made Asian Salmon Burgers with Lime, Cilantro and Edamame Spread. It’s difficult to overstate how good the burgers were. They had wonderful flavor, despite having been made with fish frozen nine months ago. The spread was nothing short of amazing. I know I’m laying it on thick, but this combination was really really good.
I also liked the tasty leftovers. I had two extra salmon burgers that I shaped into patties and refrigerated raw. I cooked them for lunch: one yesterday and one today. Admittedly, I wrapped the leftovers well and refrigerated them immediately, but what I ate today was just as good as what I ate the first day. In other words, these recipes are reliably good even if you make them ahead.
For dinner I pan-fried the burgers in olive oil, but for lunches I used my mini George Foreman grill. Both techniques cooked perfect salmon burgers in mere minutes.
The mini-George was a hand-me-down from my friend Sheila who got it as a hand-me-down from her friend Rose who got it as a hand-me-down from I don’t remember who. I never in a million years would’ve bought a George Foreman grill, but it turns out I’m wildly in love with my mini-George. Who’da thunk it?
Asian Salmon Burgers
Serves 4
Adapted from Mark Bittman, New York Times
Even frozen salmon tastes great when paired with Asian Salmon Burgers’ bold spicing. The technique used, finely grinding part of the salmon in a food processor and using this to bind the patty together, is Mark Bittman’s innovation. It’s a genius idea, and one that lends itself to numerous flavor variations, as Bittman describes in his article. Although regular soy sauce works just fine, lately I’ve been enjoying extra flavor added by mushroom soy sauce; Healthy Boy brand makes a good version. If you don’t want to bother making Lime, Cilantro and Edamame Spread (but, really, it’s hardly any bother), the burgers are just fine on their own, with a little lettuce, onion, and tomato.
1 pound skinless salmon fillets
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup shallot, peeled and chunked (approximately 1 large)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce, preferably mushroom soy sauce
1 Tbsp. finely minced ginger
1 tsp. finely minced garlic
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1/3 cup Panko
Freshly ground black pepper
Wash salmon and dry it well. Using needle-nosed pliers or tweezers, remove as many pin-bones from salmon as possible. Cut salmon into chunks.
Put 1/4 of salmon in food processor, along with mustard, shallot, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil. Process until you have smooth paste, stopping several times to scrape down sides of bowl. Add remaining salmon and pulse machine off and on to chop salmon chunks and combine them with paste; don’t turn remaining salmon into paste –it should be in 1/4” pieces at the end.
Scrape mixture into bowl. Add Panko and freshly ground black pepper and mix into salmon with your hands. Divide into four parts and shape into patties. Cover well and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Pan-fry in olive oil over medium-high heat, or grill outside, on grill pan, or on George Foreman or similar electric grill.
Serve with grilled hamburger buns and Lime, Cilantro and Edamame Spread.
Lime, Cilantro and Edamame Spread
Serves 4
Full of mouth-watering flavor, good for your health, and beautiful to behold, Lime, Cilantro and Edamame Spread is a go-to recipe when you only have minutes and need to impress. (The vibrant green color comes from edamame beans.) The spread is good with all kinds of fish, with chicken, on sandwiches, and as a dip for vegetables. Lime, Cilantro, and Edamame Spread was inspired by Cooking Light’s recipe for Edamame-Cilantro Pesto (I liked Cooking Light’s concept, but not its recipe.) I’m thrilled with my version, and have made it many times. Edamame beans are green soy beans. You buy them, usually frozen, either in the pod or already shelled.
1 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 cup thawed, shelled edamame beans
3 Tbsp. water
Finely grated zest from 1/2 a lime
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh jalapeño
2 tsp. chopped fresh garlic
Put all ingredients in blender or food processor, and process until very smooth. Taste and add more fish sauce, lime juice, or jalapeño as needed. If spread is too thick, add a little more water.
how timely, i am making a serious effort in my house to bring more fish into our weekly diet
we have lots of fresh green fava beans in the deep freeze, and have been wondering if we will be able to use them up before we grow more, so this will substitute perfectly
i hope that snow eventually stops – doesn't the alsakan weather know that spring has arrived?!?
I also have a George Foreman grill!…LOL It can be quite handy at times. The salmon burgers look delish but I'm secretly in love with that spread! Welcome back Laurie!
I also posted something this week that I called an "Asian Salmon Cake". The Asian flavors lend themselves well to salmon and this grilled type of application. I love the spread you made with completes the plate color-wise.
I love salmon burgers, but it's that pesto that looks amazing.
Hurray! Look who's back!
You have been deeply missed and I have been popping in periodically to see if there is a new post from you. I hope everything is going well!
This dish is for me! I love salmon any which way, including raw. And the lime, cilantro edamame spread looks incredible!
Perfect timing to segway into the George Foreman grill conversation. I spoke to my mom earlier today and she told me that she had purchased a gift for my husband's upcoming birthday: A George Foreman grill!
kiwi, fresh fava beans would be a perfect substitution, as you say. as for the alaska weather, sigh. yesterday, i would have said yes, spring is coming. today, it feels like winter again.
peter, joan, and lydia, yup, the burgers are good, but the spread is the key – it will make your tastebuds sing!
bijoux!!!!!! thanks! i've missed everyone as well! things are pretty good here right now. hope the same is true for you. have you got your house in perfect order yet?
that's so funny about you mom and the george foreman. i always think of it as one of my guilty kitchen secrets, especially when i use it to make one of the world's best grilled cheese sandwiches. mmmm. it makes me hungry for hot gooey cheese just thinking about it! and the design of the george f, which you'll appreciate, is fab because all the extra fat from grilled cheese soaks into the bread when you cook the sandwich on a flat plan just runs right off on a george f. this means i can pretend to myself that i'm being a little bit virtuous eating the grilled cheese even though if i were forced to actually own up to what i was putting in my mouth i'd know i wasn't being virtuous at all. but the george f makes me THINK i am, so therefore I love it! ok, that's a little crazy, but it's also true!
Funny thing… I have been think about your food blog and all your Greek and Alaskan inspired foods… but you had not posted for so long, and it has been so long since I checked in… and Ta Da! I decided to check in today, and here is another lovely post this weekend! Yummy yummy!
This looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing with WHB #230.
This looks so delicious and I can't wait to try it myself! I absolutely love salmon and all things Asian.
I have no doubt that this would taste fantastic!
I love a good salmon burger and this looks especially delicious with the edamame spread! What a vibrant dish.
I never thought of using edamame as a spread — its a wonderful idea! I will give it a try!
Fantastic. Wonderful post. I'll give it a try.
That spread sounds absolutely delicious!