Salmon Cakes with Avocado Pesto

It's a gray Tuesday outside, but I have a batch of Pear Butter processing in the water bath right now, and a batch of Pear Sauce (like apple sauce but with... wait for it... pears) on the stove, so I figured I would take these few minutes of downtime to share a fantastic recipe with you!

I made salmon cakes the other night for dinner. First time I have ever worked with canned salmon, and I was a bit skeptical, but they turned out fantastic! And really, very easy to make.

 I started with a large can of salmon (14 oz). I really recommend using wild salmon whenever possible for the Omega-3 benefits. Just sayin'. I made sure all the bones and skin were removed, because I am not a huge fan of eating the bones and skin. My cat, on the other hand, was sitting at my feet yowling at the top of his lungs until he got some to chew on. That fat boy LOVES salmon.

Anyway, I added egg yolks as a binder. I saved the egg whites... they make great omelets or crepes, or you can use them in other recipes... but in any case, I recommend saving them.

Then I added onions, garlic and spices and mixed it all together until it was really well incorporated.

 I used my hands to form them into patties, and I baked them on my silpat, because I love my silpat. Seriously. I use it for everything.

Then I made an avocado pesto (one avocado, some garlic, some basil leaves to taste, a splash of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, all in the blender until you get the desired consistency) and served that on top of the salmon cakes. Totally Yummy!

Salmon Cakes

14 oz can of Wild Salmon (remove bones and skin)
3 Egg Yolks
1/2 tsp Sea Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp White Pepper
2 cloves Garlic
1/2 Cup of Diced Onion
Coconut Oil for browning (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the salmon, eggs, and spices together in a bowl. Incorporate well, and form into patties with your hands. If you have a silpat, use that. If not, make sure you bake your salmon cakes on parchment paper, as they are much easier to get off the baking tray that way! Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

If you would like to brown them (just gives a crispy texture on the outside and makes them look yummy!), heat the coconut oil in a skillet. When it is hot, brown the cakes for about 1 minute on each side.

Serve with some lemon, tartar sauce, or the avocado pesto I mentioned above!

This makes about 4 servings, 3 oz each.

Nutritional Info:
Each serving (not including the pesto) contains:
Calories - 127
Fat - 6g
Protein - 17g
Carbs - 2g