Curried Salmon Cakes--Recipe "Repurpose"

I have a friend who refuses to eat leftovers, whether at home or a restaurant, once is enough for her. I, on the other hand, love leftovers (sometimes even more than the actual meal), and usually make extra in order to have them. I especially love to find ways to "repurpose" them into something different. Case in point, I made an extra couple of Peppered Salmon Fillets for my Tyler Florence Friday's recipe pick this week and decided to use one fillet to make some small salmon cakes. Since they were already crusted with crushed peppercorns and coriander seeds, Indian spices seemed like the way to go and I added a little cumin and curry powder and a touch of dill, mint and cilantro. 

Curried Salmon Cakes

(1 fillet makes about 3 small cakes)

1 (5-6 oz) peppered salmon fillet 
1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp dill, chopped

1/2 tsp mint, chopped

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp curry powder

Flake the salmon with a fork. Mix with panko, egg, lemon juice, herbs and spices. Make sure mixture is moist but not wet. Form into small patties. Heat a pan over medium-high heat, spray with olive oil cooking spray and add patties, searing on each side about 3 minutes, until lightly browned and warmed through. 

Notes: I find making smaller, 2 1/2" to 3" patties keeps the salmon cakes together better, making them easier to cook. (If you don't have leftover pepper crusted salmon fillets, you could easily use canned salmon and add some crushed black pepper and a little crushed coriander seeds or coriander powder for a similar taste).

Results: Nicely spicy, the salmon cakes were delicious with the chickpea dressing and the tangy, cooling touch of yogurt. I put them on a salad plate, over a bed of spinach and chickpea vinaigrette, threw on some little fresh tomatoes and topped it all with non-fat Greek yogurt. A quick, delicious and still healthy dinner using Tyler's great combo of ingredients.