Salmon Patties II

This is my new favourite way to make salmon patties. I always broiled them as that was how my mother made them-but truthfully, I never liked her salmon patties-they were dry, and hard. Look, she's been dead for twenty years, I think it is OK to finally confess that I didn't care for her salmon patties. I think I didn't like that she stretched the salmon with tuna. *Shrugs*.

I realise the secret ingredient here is probably not available to all readers, so feel free to go ahead and substitute store-bought parsley in the recipe. You see, Danny planted a large container of curly parsley. I understand the curly variety has fallen out of favour, but if the curly parsley in supermarkets tasted as fresh and delicious as the stuff kiddo is growing in the yard, it might have a resurgence of popularity. In fact, the bunnies in these parts have much fresher breath than they used to. You know how sometimes you're sitting in the garden talking to the rabbits and you think, "Dear god, that bunny has dandelion breath-he should go eat some parsley." So you tell the bunny, "Hey, go try some of Danny's parsley-it'll take care of your rank dandelion breath" and the bunny is all like, "Well I just came from Ms. Rabbit's Bunny Hitch and she wasn't exactly complainin'." So you try to convince the bunny his lady friend was just being polite by asking if her nose was all wrinkled-up-n-stuff and twitchy, and he's all like, "Well yeah, it was all wrinkled up and twitchy caus' she's a bloody rabbit, and her eyes were pink too." But then, when you've given up trying to persuade old bunny breath about the parsley, he hops over, takes a nibble and is all like, "Wow, check out the chlorophyll. My mouth feels so fresh." and you nod knowingly because friends, this isn't some supermarket parsley we're talking about here. Still, feel free to substitute whatever you've got.

Yeaaaah, as Mr. ETB likes to say, "If you don't like her writing, just go to Google and type in, 'recipe" that should get you something straightforward.


You Will Need:

1 small tin of salmon (I used red, wild Alaskan which sounds like more fun that it is)
1 tablespoon finely chopped preserved lemon peel (or the grated zest of 1/2 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
Salt/Pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup chopped, fresh parsley
1 large egg
Enough dry breadcrumbs to make a mixture that will stick together-about 3/4 cup (I had very coarse, almost crouton-like sourdough crumbs that worked really well)Don't overdo it or they well be dry.
Oil for the pan

Heat a frying pan over medium heat. I used olive oil for cooking these, but you could of course use any kind you like, or butter for that matter. Cook them until they are nicely browned on both sides. My family likes their salmon cold (I mean, they're practically religious about it) so make them well ahead if planning to serve them chilled. If your family lack these peculiar ideas about salmon, feel free to serve them warm. A tarragon mayo goes nicely here as well, provided your family will eat it, which mine will not. Instead, I mixed sour cream, paprika, dill, and some olive oil together for a sauce. It worked.