The Best Ever...Salmon Burgers

Notice the Louisiana hot sauce in the background? What a coincidence. I was just mentioning on some replies on my previous post that tropical storm Isaac is in Louisiana now. Since about 1 week now, we've been having heavy winds and rain here in South Florida, but nothing compares to the windy heavy storm we had last weekend, finally ending last night with several huge BANGS of thunder that shook all the windows.

When you're stuck inside all day on Sunday and half the day on Monday, due to the storm, you better have a plan while you have electricity, to make the best of the situation. As for me, I yearn for comfort food...not necessary junk food but something satisfying...yet, healthy! I had a brilliant idea to make burgers on my little George Foreman grill...better yet, a juicy salmon burger, with robust flavor, not too spicy, but intense in flavor.

How could you not have a burger without sides?...not me! Either fries, or onion rings, but I must confess I do love onion rings...good onion rings, and I am not going to wast any time making them from scratch just for me alone when I can get the Alexia onion rings in my local supermarkets freezer section.

I even made the dipping sauce that was sweet, and spicy (recipe on the side of the bag) I adapted it my way by adding the Louisiana hot sauce to kick it up a bit. No frying with these onion rings. Just bake it for 10 minutes on 400 degrees F. for a crisp perfect, crunchy onion rings that were dipped in Panko crumbs.

You must have tartar sauce with a delicious salmon burger...if not a tartar sauce, but then a special sauce. Now I have both, a ketchup based sweet and spicy dipping sauce, and a homemade tartar sauce that is way better than the store bought!

I was so inspired to make the tartar sauce that I have been making for years, which is really a simple method. Just have a good brand mayonnaise, and to make sure you add sweet pickle relish, or make your own pickle relish by chopping the pickles in your food processor.

So let's get started. For 2 salmon burgers, I used a piece of salmon fillet that was just under 1/2 lb.

2 scallions, trimmed and chopped coarsely.
2 or three pieces of fresh dill, stems cut
1 teaspoon lemon zest
juice of half of a lemon
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs
freshly ground pepper, and sea salt to taste
(I used coarse sea salt ground fine)

Cut the salmon into 1 inch cubes, and add it to a food processor, adding all the listed ingredients.


Being careful not to process; just give it no more than 2 pulses, to keep it coarse, and not make it like ground meat. The Panko will help it hold together.

Have your grill set up, or your favorite grill pan or electric grill heating up.

This is the ideal consistency you should have. (my only problem was, I should have chopped the scallion into smaller pieces) food processor does not seem to chop it up in 2 pulses.

Now you are ready to pat them gently into patties.

On a large plate, add 1/4 cup more of the Panko crumbs and roll the salmon burgers in them. Gently pat some extra on each side.

Spray with PAM or other brand cooking spray on both sides. At this time, you can refrigerate them while you prepare the other easy sides to go with it!

Grill the salmon burgers on the George Foreman Grill, which of course has two sides for grilling which takes half the time than grilling in a grill pan, or on an outdoor grill.
Spray extra cooking spray while you're grilling,

Total time on George Foreman is 4-5 minutes. On a one sided grill you have to flip over to the other side. (4-5 minutes on each side)

Dipping Sauce for the onion rings and for the salmon burger (optional)

1 cup good quality ketchup
(I use Heinz)
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
few dashes of Louisiana hot sauce
Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and serve for dipping, or spreading
.



Linking to:Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
               Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop @ KatherinesCorner

Smoky Chipotle Hummus

I am in one of those unprepared mode...not mood, but I suppose that would also label it as such! I have not been photographing anything I have made since last week. The only thing that inspired me to actually photograph, is just one shot of the Chipotle Hummus that so inspired me by Alisha's hummus that she made!
@ The Ardent Epicure.

She made this most amazing Cilantro Hummus with Chipotle Oil Drizzle... that I could just not resist! She has such an amazing vegetarian blog, with all the gorgeous exotic fruits, and vegetables and legumes she uses to prepare delicious and healthy dishes, and appetizers.

I did not have fresh cilantro on hand, but I did have dry cilantro, which was not my first choice, but it did the trick, and it was actually a vibrant green color, because I keep my dry herbs in my freezer, and they last a long time, and stay fresh and that makes my foods taste a lot better.

So as you see, this is the beautiful dry chipotle peppers that I used. They were purchased at my local produce market, and, the price is very inexpensive. All you have to do is to put them into boiling water, and simmer them on med. low temperature, until they get soft, so you can put them in the food processor. Use some of the liquid from the water as well to make your sauce the proper consistency.



The recipe I used is something I found online, that I adapted from was on> All Recipes.com
 
Linking my Smoky Chipotle Hummus, to: Full Plate Thursday, 10-20-11
@ Miz Helen's Country Cottage!

The change I made in the Smoky Chipotle Hummus recipe, was that instead of canned chipotle, I used the homemade sauce to combine it with the recipe. I also omitted the canned roasted tomatoes, and the sundried tomatoes, as well.I didn't have fresh cilantro, so I had to use 1 teaspoon dry cilantro. Extra virgin olive oil was drizzle on the top, making a well around the center, to hold the oil, for easier scooping, and dipping. Serve with toasted pita wedges. Quite a change from the ordinary plain hummus!

Here's a helpful hint, how to dry fresh cilantro, a question asked by Laurie @ how my time flys.
As a rule, I freeze my dry herbs, and spices. They have a much longer life in the freezer, and every time I use them, they are always fresh, and potent, and not lose their aroma and strength. Even if you don't want to freeze them, at least refrigerate them, and you will get the same results. The only two seasonings that I don't freeze or refrigerate is the salt and pepper, which is always kept at room temperature!


How to dry fresh Cilantro

Cilantro
Cilantro, which originated in Greece, has been grown as an herb for thousands of years. Today, this annual is used in cuisine in countries in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. "Cilantro" is generally used to refer to the leaves of this plant. The seeds of the plant are usually called "coriander."

Growing Cilantro
You can buy cilantro as small plants from your local nursery and transplant them into the ground or into containers. These plants like the weather to be cool and sunny. Therefore, plant them where they can catch their rays during the morning and afternoon hours. Like us, these plants shouldn't be exposed to the sun during the mid-day hours.
If you want to plant your cilantro from seeds, you will need to do some groundwork before the seeds hit the soil. First, you have to crush each seed's husk a little. Then, the seeds should be soaked for one to two days before you plant them.
Plant seeds every six weeks or so during the growing season as cilantro is not a long lived plant.

How to Dry Fresh Cilantro: Leaves
Yes, you can buy dried cilantro at the store. Have you ever tried it? Dried cilantro has lost most of the attributes that makes cilantro "cilantro." While home dried leaves might be an improvement, these dried leaves will still leave much to be desired.
Your best bet is to wash the cilantro and remove most of the stems. Pat them dry with a towel and freeze individually on a cookie sheet. After the leaves are frozen, put them in freezer bags and place them back in your freezer until you need them.

How to Dry Fresh Cilantro: Coriander
When the seeds on the flower heads of your cilantro plant are starting to turn from green to brown, snip off the flower heads. Put the flower heads in brown paper bags and close the bags. Let the plant dry until the seeds fall off the heads easily.

Have a wonderful week...I will have more to offer in my next post!