Someone here read that one of the most favored purchases from Costco was the Canned Wild Alaskan Salmon so we purchased some to try. I will say it really is better than any canned salmon I’ve tasted. Of course it’s not as great as really great fresh salmon. Sadly in my part of Phoenix I very rarely find fresh salmon. I haven’t even tried to purchase any nearby because it’s a 50/50 chance if it’s fresh enough and I often return fish to store after I purchase it. Today I thought this canned salmon would be great in a potato cake so that’s what I did with it. I felt there wasn’t a need to fry these Salmon Cakes. By just using whole wheat panko crumbs you can get a very crispy crust SUPER FORKING EASY without an egg wash or flour dredge… easily. These Salmon Cakes came out very tasty and I think just about everyone would like them. I didn’t try but I don’t recommend freezing leftover Salmon Cakes. After eating one of these Salmon Cakes I have to say they really are tasty. I think they are flavored well but not too much. But it is very surprising how Forking Crispy they are……They came out much better than many fried things I’ve tried. No oil and a big crispy crunch. YOU MUST make the Jean Georges Vonericten’s Saffron Cucumber Pickles to go with these Salmon Potato Cakes. They go together like magic….

Ingredients for 5 servings

1 oz celery – fine chopped (about 1/2 a rib)

1 oz sweet onion – fine chopped

2 garlic cloves – very fine chopped

1/2 oz red pepper – fine chopped (I used a hot/sweet cherry pepper – a fresno would be my 2nd choice.)

non stick spray – canola or vegetable

1 lb potatoes

1 Tablespoon kosher salt (for boiling the potatoes)

sea salt – fresh ground to taste

black pepper – fresh ground to taste

1 oz whipped cream cheese

1 egg – lightly beaten

1- 6 oz can wild salmon – drained

1/2 cup regular panko

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley

1 cup whole wheat panko (****you really only use 1/2 cup but it’s hard to coat using only 1/2 cup)

Directions

Set the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cover potatoes with water in a pot. Add the kosher salt and bring to a medium boil and cook till fork tender. (should be about 15-20 minutes) Remove potatoes from the water and put to the side. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle peel them.

In a fry pan add non stick spray. Add the celery, onion, garlic, red pepper and cook on medium high heat till vegetables are soft. Take off heat and put to the side.

Potatoes should be cool enough to handle so peel them.

Mash the potatoes and add the fry pan of vegetables. Mash well. Add fresh ground sea salt and black pepper to taste. Mix in cream cheese. Mix well. Mix in beaten egg. Mix well. Add drained salmon and 1/2 cup panko, parsley and mix well.

Divide and make into five cakes. If you weigh them they should be about 5 oz. each.

In a small bowl add 1 cup whole wheat panko (secret to crisp breading that usually comes out better than frying) Add a small amount of fresh ground sea salt and a small amount of ground ground black pepper.

Pick up a cake and gently roll it all around in the crumbs. Repeat the next four cakes.

Repeat and do a double coat.

Line a baking sheet with parchment.

Place the salmon cakes down with a little space in-between them. Very LIGHTLY spray the tops of the salmon cakes with spray. Put in the 425 degree F oven for 20 minutes on the first side, then gently turn each cake over and very LIGHTLY spray them again and they go in the oven for another 20 minutes . They should look sort of like this.

After about a total of 40 minutes they are ready to serve. Or you can chill them and reheat latter. If the cakes are coming chilled from the refrigerator I’d say to reheat put them on a pan for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Serve with either lemon aioli, tarter or cocktail sauce. A lemon wedge would go nice too. We really enjoyed the Salmon Cakes with Jean Georges Vongericten’s Saffron Cucumber Pickles. That recipe you can find in the search or just page back two days.

(salmon cake was cut in 1/2 here) They came out really crisp too!

I think these Salmon Potato Cakes would pair with the Brûlée Pineapple Sriracha Slaw above! (recipe soon to be published)

Enjoy!