I love to eat. Food talks to me. It whispers gently in my ear as an idea or screams as a craving. If I am hungry I unconsciously serve enough to feed an army even though there are only four of us at the table. If I have a craving, then the rest of my family must want to eat the same thing as well. (I can feel my family rolling their eyes as I write.) My philosophy has always been "everything in moderation". As such, I try not to make two of the same type of food group consecutively (although waiting a day and a bit is okay for "leftover night"). During the week I rotate through the usual - beef, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetarian. I love all food enough to say that I don't have a favourite specific dish but I do like seafood, salmon in particular. I have a lot of salmon recipes. This one that I came across has become one of my favourites (my daughter says its the cucumbers that make it).
All the recipes on my blog are ones that I have discovered. Although I love to eat and am eager to try new recipes I am not creative or brave enough to create ones on my own. That being said, I try to give credit to all my sources and if for some reason I did not make a note, I will state that the source is "unknown". I also hope that you will take a moment to visit the sites of those that were so inspirational to me. Glutenfreegirl.com was one of the first sites I came across and still remains a source of inspiration.
I also hope that I can help others who want to try going wheat free, or must refrain from wheat for health reasons. I drew inspiration from so many that I hope to be able to give back - or at least inspire you to try something new.
I am also not one to count calories, fat, points or anything else that will consume more of my precious little free time. I would rather enjoy my food than analyse it. On that note, let me just state a few firm beliefs that hold steadfast in my kitchen: limit salt, limit unnecessary fat, only real butter, good quality olive oil, absolutely no artificial sugar substitutes, no fat substitutes, limited items that contain preservatives, no deep fried food, portion control and a daily walk (my dachshunds Max and Rusty see to that). Soft drinks are a treat and juice in limits. Dessert is a treat, not a necessity. Fast food only once a month. Activities instead of snacking.
I suppose that this can serve as a good basis for a "clean eating" lifestyle but now I have added the additional element of limiting wheat in all its forms. In this recipe I have used gluten-free breadcrumbs and served it on gluten-wheat free buns but the traditional method works marvelously. I have found that for this recipe salmon that is sold frozen works wonderfully and is a little more economical than using fresh. The flavours are so pronounced that no one will ever notice that you did not use fresh. I make a double batch of the mayo dressing as I find 1/4 cup is not enough to spread on four burgers. I have tried this with cilantro that I have previously frozen (in an effort not to waste) and have discovered that fresh works best - save the frozen stuff for a different dish.
Fresh Salmon-Cilantro Burgers
From myrecipes.com
Ingredients
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
zest of one lime (optional)
1 (1-pound) salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup dry gluten/wheat-free breadcrumbs
1 large egg, whisked
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
4 (1 1/2-ounce) buns
12 (1/4-inch-thick) slices English cucumber
4 leaf lettuce leaves
Preparation
1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; cover and chill to let flavours combine.
2. Place salmon in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add breadcrumbs and next 7 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon black pepper); pulse 4 times or until well blended. Divide salmon mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty.
3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 2 minutes. Carefully turn patties over; cook 2 minutes or until done.
4. Spread about 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixture over bottom half of each hamburger bun. Top each serving with 1 salmon patty, 3 cucumber slices, 1 lettuce leaf, and top half of bun.
Jackie Mills, MS, RD, Cooking Light MAY 2009
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