FRESH SALMON BURGERS

I love burgers. There I said it. Its not the meat that does it for me, in fact I eat very little meat. There is just something about the bun, the patty (veggie and salmon are my favorite) and the toppings that just make the perfect combination! Thus, this salmon burger recipe was born.

I was perusing the isles at Costco when the package of frozen salmon burgers caught my eye. I read the ingredients, looked at the price and tried to decide if they were worth it... the good thing about being on a strict grocery budget is that you really do think through every item (more posts on budgets and meal planning to come). It suddenly occurred to me that I could in fact attempt to make my own salmon burgers using the salmon I had at home and some fresh ingredients. Decision made.

I also love potatoes. Of any kind. Especially french fries. Combine a healthy burger with healthy french fries and you have one happy mama. We eat these baked sweet potato fries quite often and they can be added to just about any meal and cut into any shape.

If you are on the fence about salmon and or sweet potatoes, here is some fascinating information about them both that just might make you want to give them a try.

Salmon

Sweet Potatoes

ENJOY!

Elizabeth

FRESH SALMON BURGERS

(serves 4)

12 - 14 oz. Fresh Salmon – bones and skin removed – cut into 1 inch cubes

1 chopped leek (about ¾ - 1 cup)

1 cup chopped fresh spinach (2 cups un-chopped)

3 T teriyaki sauce

*if you need to go gluten free, Whole Foods and New Seasons both carry g/f teriyaki sauce options

1 egg

*if you need to go dairy free, use 1 Tsp of ground flax seed mixed with 3 Tsp of water

*if you want to reduce the fat a bit, you can use two eggs whites

1 T dried or fresh basil

1 T minced garlic

¼ – ½ tsp red pepper flakes

Sea salt and pepper to taste

Splash of olive oil for cooking

Combine salmon, leeks and spinach in a large bowl.

Whisk together teriyaki sauce, egg, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes, sea salt and pepper.

Pour wet mixture over the salmon mixture. Using a pastry knife, mash the mixture until all the pieces are pretty small and combined. You may also try to use a food processor to combine the mixture… I have never tried it because I only have a mini one but I bet it would work well!

Heat a splash of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, use your hands to form patties with the salmon mixture and place them in the pan. You will have to arrange them and form them in the pan a bit. Once they start cooking, they will stay together (if you used flax seed or egg whites, they won’t hold together as well so be careful when you flip them!).

Cook for about 8 minutes on each side or until they are brown on both sides.

I usually serve them on a whole or sprouted wheat bun (Dave’s Killer Bread Buns are the best!) and topped with sliced avocado, Trader Joe’s BBQ sauce (sounds weird but it tastes amazing!) and fresh spinach.

*If you need to go gluten free, they are great on a bed of fresh spinach too.

On the side we love steamed veggies of any kind and baked sweet potato fries (recipe below).

BAKED SWEET POTATO FRIES

(serves 4)

4 medium sweet potatoes

1 T melted coconut oil or olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp sea salt

¼ tsp pepper

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400F

Wash and cut sweet potatoes into ¼ inch rounds (You can cut them in regular fry shape too. The rounds just make for easier cutting due to how fibrous they are).

Place sweet potatoes and oil in a zip lock bag and shake until the potatoes are fully coated.

Add spices and shake bag well.

If you have pans that fit, place a cooling rack inside/on top of a cookie sheet and place potatoes on top. This will make it so they will brown on both sides evenly and you won’t have to flip them. I wish I could take credit for this genius idea but I stole it from a blog. Life changing!

If your pans don’t fit, spray a cookie sheet with olive oil spray and arrange potatoes on the cookie sheet. Flip potatoes half way through.

Bake for about 45 – 55 minutes. Allow them to brown on both sides and start to crisp up. We like them pretty crispy so sometimes I turn up the heat to 425 for a few minutes at the end.