Maybe not quite all, but for those who count, namely the birthday boy, PK and me. By birthday boy, I mean Timmy Cat, who just turned nine years old. I wanted to celebrate with a special salmon cake for the cats, but only two of the four have any interest in people food. Timmy is one who never turns down a good meal and Milo enjoys most anything I eat, including spicy food. Hooligan may have eaten only a bite, but he definitely enjoyed the broth I poached the salmon in. So, for this special meal, I bought a pound of salmon and poached it in the oven until just cooked – about 20 minutes (350 F oven) in a pan with about a half inch of water in it. You can used canned salmon, but I prefer the taste of freshly cooked fish.

Like many cat parents, I thought a special treat on the cat’s birthday would be great and although there are lots of goodies at the pet store for dogs, there isn’t anything special for cats. I suppose it’s because cats aren’t into biscuits, cakes and cookies so much.   So I went hunting on the web and found a recipe for tuna cake, which can be easily made with salmon. The simple recipe first is the one for the cats, then on to the one for people. Actually the cat one is perfectly edible by people, just not as tasty as the people recipe.  My cats prefer bacon to shrimp, so I used bits of bacon to top it. You can also spread a little mayonnaise over the top as an icing if your cats like it.

Salmon Cakes for Felines

Ingredients:

1 Egg
3/4 cup Salmon
2 tbs Flour
4 tbs shredded or grated Cheese
Baby Shrimp or pieces of Bacon, to garnish
Sprigs of fresh Cat Nip and/or Cat Mint for garnish

Preheat oven to 350˚F.

Prepare cupcake tin or 4 silicone cupcake molds by lightly spraying with cooking spray.

Break up salmon in a medium bowl, checking for bones as you go. Lightly beat egg in a separate bowl, then combine with tuna. Add in flour and cheese. Stir to combine.

Makes 4 small cakes.

Scoop batter into cupcake tin or silicone cups. Bake for 15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Salmon Cakes with Dill Sauce

Yes, this is the one for the humans. This recipe was originally for Carab Cakes and is adapted from EatingWell.com.  I have adjusted it to a low carb version. The main changes are to replace the bread for the bread crumbs with a low carb bread and the original recipe called for yogurt in the dill sauce, which I’ve replaced with lower carb sour cream. Use the flax meal sandwich roll recipe to make the bread (you can omit the oat fiber, buttermilk and onion flakes for this). Or you can buy low carb bread and use two slices of that. or you can just use whole wheat bread if you aren’t concerned about the 20 net carbs in it, which breaks down to about 4.5 additional carbs per serving.

I used a small food processor to chop the onions and the celery. Just be sure to trim off the pithy parts and the strings on the celery. Unfortunately, the blades just slide right over the parsley and dill. Chop those with a knife.

For the salmon cakes:

3 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
15 ounces canned salmon, drained, or 1 1/2 cups cooked salmon
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay spice or other seafood spice
1 1/2 cup flax bread rolls (2 rolls), processed to crumbs
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

For the Dill Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
1 to 2 tablespoon lemon juice, about 1/2 a lemon
1 to 2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill*
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Prepare Creamy Dill Sauce first and put in the fridge to allow the flavors to chill and blend together.

Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, chopped onions, lemon juice, dill and pepper in a small bowl and mix well. Taste and adjust lemon juice, dill and pepper to your preference. I used about 1 tablespoons of lemon juice and dill in my sauce.

• You can use dried dill if fresh isn’t available. Or you can substitute parsley, but then it isn’t a dill sauce.

Prepare the salmon cakes

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray or use a silicone mat and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery; cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in parsley; remove from the heat.

Break the bread into pieces and put in your food processor. Pulse until it is reduced to fine crumbs. Set aside.

Place salmon in a medium bowl. Flake apart with a fork; remove any bones and skin. Add egg and mustard; mix well. Add the onion mixture, breadcrumbs and seasonings; mix well. Shape the mixture into 8 patties, about 2 1/2 inches wide.

Heat remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium heat. Add 4 patties and cook until the undersides are golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Using a wide spatula, turn slide them onto the prepared baking sheet, uncooked side up. Repeat with the remaining patties.

Bake the salmon cakes until golden on top and heated through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve with dill sauce. Elegant and delicious!

Makes 8 – 2 1/2 inch cakes, two cakes to a serving, so makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info Per serving for Dill Sauce
Calories: 209.3 Fat: 22.8 g Net Carbs: .9 g Protein: .5 g

Nutrition Info Per serving for Salmon Cakes
Calories: 227.6 Fat: 11.4 Net Carbs: 2.7 g Protein: 25.6 g

Tip: If you’re like me, you buy a bunch of fresh parsley or fresh dill, make one thing and throw out the icky green sludge a couple of weeks later. Plan to make a pesto with the parsley or use it on plates as garnish. Failing that, dry it. Same thing with the dill. I use an inexpensive dehydrator, but you can put your parsley or dill on cheese cloth and set it in a sunny spot to dry out. Once dry, put it in a plastic bag or a jar and use whenever you need it.

When preparing the salmon cake recipe, you can mix it up earlier in the day, stopping before shaping into patties, cover and refrigerate until 40 minutes before you want to serve them. Then shape them and cook as instructed. The dill sauce can also be made in advance. You can actually go through the shaping and putting on a baking sheet step, but if your ‘fridge is like mine, there’s no place for a baking sheet in it.

I’m pretty confident this salmon cake recipe will work equally well with tuna, crab and shrimp. As I try them out, I’ll let you know. Or if you try them before I do, let me know. Deal?

POSTED BY RENE AVERETT AT 9/7/2013 11:33 AM