Salmon Cakes with Aioli dip

We recently went to the REI members event where they had a few finger foods and one of them were these yummy looking tiny crab cakes that were out of the world..So I came back home totally wanting to make something similar..I dint have crab at home but had some left over salmon from making fish puttu the other day. So I decided to make salmon cakes instead..
This is a healthy and utterly delicious recipe that just will make your taste buds very happy!!

Ingredients:
Salmon, cooked, shredded - 1 lb
Onion, large, finely chopped - 1/2 no
Bell Pepper, finely chopped - 1/2 no
Eggs, slightly beaten - 2
Garlic powder - 1tsp
Worcestershire sauce - 1Tbsp
Hot sauce - 1/2 Tbsp (or to taste)
Old bay seasoning - 1/2 Tbsp
All purpose seasoning - 2 tsp (opt)
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
Pepper - 2-3tsp
Mayo - 2 Tbsp
Butter - 1/2 Tbsp
Olive oil -
Salt, to taste

For Garlic Lemon Aioli Dip:
Garlic pods, crushed - 2
Mayo - 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
Salt - 1 pinch
Pepper - 1 pinch
Capers - 1 Tbsp (optional)

 

Method:

1. Roast salmon in very little oil in a flat pan until completely cooked and slightly golden on both sides. Remove from pan, cool and shred into small pieces once cooled.
2. In the same pan, add butter, 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and add the onions and bell peppers, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, garlic powder and all the seasonings, salt, pepper and let it cook until soft and slightly golden. Once done, remove from heat and let cool.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix together salmon, onion mixture, beaten eggs, bread crumbs and Mayo. Adjust seasonings per taste if need be. 
4. Heat in low flame about a tbsp of olive oil in a flat pan or griddle.
5. Take equal amounts of the mixture (I used an ice cream scoop for this) and make them into balls and then flatten them out a little like biscuits about 3-4 inches in diameter and place them in the oil one by one. 
6. Slowly brown both sides of the cake until completely firm and well done. 
7. Remove from heat and serve hot with garlic lemon aioli dip or tartar sauce. 
8. For the dip, mix all the ingredients together and adjust seasoning.

P.S : I used leftover salmon in this case. You can precook and refrigerate the fish for more than a week and use it when you need it. You can prepare the mixture and store it for a few days ahead before making the cakes as well.
Breadcrumbs substitute:  If you dont have breadcrumbs, you can use ritz crackers or any salt crackers or toasted bread to bind the ingredients together.

Crab Cakes

I love crab cakes at restaurants and have tried making them at home at least 3 or 4 times and each time I tried different recipes. The first time, I made it with a ton of mayo which was delicious but fattening..so I've finally settled down with this version of crab cakes which is equally yummy and definitely healthier and not drenched in mayo.. :)
You can make these in 2 different ways. The traditional way is to pan fry them in olive oil. The other one I tried this time, is baking. I'll mention both the methods here..

Ingredients:
Crab Meat - 1 lb
Dijon Mustard - 2 Tbsp
Light Mayonaisse - 2 Tbsp
Lemon Juice - 1 Tbsp
Onion, diced - 1 medium
Celery sticks, diced - 5 nos
Garlic, crushed - 4 cloves
Chipotle sauce - 1 Tbsp
Worcestershire sauce - 1 Tbsp
Chili Sauce - 1/2 Tbsp
Egg, beaten - 1
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Paprika - 1/2 tsp
Rusk, crushed  - 4

Panko Breadcrumbs - 1/2 cup

For the Dip:
Light Mayonaise - 1/4 cup
Capers - 1 Tbsp
Dijon Mustard - 2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Garlic, crushed - 1 clove
Sugar - 1 pinch
Pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

Method:

1. Heat about 2 Tbsp of oil in a pan and add onions, celery and crushed garlic and sauté until cooked through and soft. Remove from pan and cool. 
2. To the sautéed veggies, add all the ingredients from above except for the breadcrumbs and chill the mixture in the refrigerator at least for an hour or two.
3. Once chilled, scoop the mixture with an ice-cream scoop, put it on a plate and flatten it out a little bit using your hand to make it look like a cake and coat it with the breadcrumbs on both sides.
4. Heat about 2-3 Tbsps of oil in a shallow pan and add the crab cakes one by one and pan fry until golden brown on both sides for about 4-5 minutes each side.
5. For the dip mix everything together and enjoy! If you are lazy to make the dip, store bought tartar sauce will make a perfect dip. 

For Baking:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Place the crab mixture coated with breadcrumbs on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil and drizzle or spray a little olive oil on each cake and pop it in the oven for 10 minutes on one side.
3. Flip the crab cakes to the other side and drizzle olive oil on each and bake for 10 more minutes until golden and crispy. 

I used canned crab cake meat that I bought at Costco. Chilling the mixture is very important for the crab cakes to be flavorful. I chilled them overnight and made it the next day in the evening as a snack. But 1 or 2 hours should be pretty sufficient.
The reason to drizzle some oil while baking is to maintain a little moisture in the cakes, otherwise baking dries them out and makes them a little harder than the pan fried ones. Even if you are pan frying, you don't need to use a lot of oil. Cooking them in a medium flame with little oil will roast them well enough. Enjoy and hope your weekend begins with crab cakes!! :) 

2 Minute Chocolate Cake

Craving for a chocolate cake out of the blue? anybody?? This recipe will answer all your prayers for an instant chocolate cake that you can make in less than 2 minutes conveniently in your microwave..

Ingredients:

Flour - 1 Tbsp

Brown sugar - 1Tbsp

Sugar - 2 Tbsp

Baking powder - 1/4 tsp

Vannila Essence - 1/4 tsp

Egg whites - 1 Tbsp

Salt - 1 pinch

Milk - 2Tbsp

Veg Oil - 1 Tbsp

Cocoa powder - 1 Tbsp

Instant coffee - 1/4 tsp

Chocolate chips - 10 nos (optional)

Method:

1. Take a Microwavable bowl or a coffee mug, Mix all the ingredients above except chocolate chips. 
2. Microwave it in 50% power for 1 minute. 
3. If you are adding chocolate chips, mix them with a pinch of flour to coat them so they don't sink to the bottom and add it to the bowl.
4. Now, microwave again for about 30 seconds until it's cooked through. If not done, cook it for 20 more seconds or so..Your delicious chocolate cake is ready!!

If you are a person who takes 2 spoons of sugar for your coffee, like me :) you may add 1/2 Tbsp extra sugar or a splenda pkt to make it much sweeter..You can decorate it with whipped cream or chocolate icing..I couldn't resist the temptation to eat it right away..So no patience for decor :)

Do let me know how this turns out!!

Strawberry Cake

Fruit cake recipe

This is  an interesting cake recipe I learnt from a friend’s mother my freshman year in college. It uses no oil or shortening of any kind and it still turn out moist.

Things Needed:

6 eggs
1 and a quarter cups flour or a coffee cup of flour
1 and a quarter cups sugar or coffee cup of sugar
Two tables spoons confectioner's sugar
1.5 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 box strawberries
2 teaspoons vinegar
2 teaspoons baking powder

Baking:
Mix the eggs, sugar and flour and vanilla extract into a batter. It helps to add the egg, flour and sugar little by little into a bowl instead of mixing all of it at once. In a small cup, mix the vinegar and baking powder .. it will fizz. Then add it to the cake batter and mix it in. Immediately pour the batter into a 9 inch cake pan or two round cake pans ( I used two round pans). Wait for about 5 minutes. The vinegar baking powder mixture will make the batter bubble. Bake for 45 mins at 325 F or till a toothpick poked into the center comes out clean.

Frosting and Layering
Cool the cake and remove from pan. To decorate slice each cake into two layers. Take the whipping cream and add the confectioner’s sugar to it. Then whip using an electric blender till the heavy cream has a spreadable consistency ~ AKA  till stiff peaks form.

Slice strawberries lengthwise and keep aside.

Pick a tray to serve the cake in and place one of the four layers of cake it with the crumby side down. Spead a quarter of the whipping cream on the layer and add bits of strawberry to the layer. Save the bigger pieces for the uppermost layer. Repeat this two more times with two more layers. For the uppermost layer, spread the whipped cream and arrange the bigger strawberry slices in circles or any way you fancy. If any cream is left over, the sides of the cake can also be frosted. Other fruits like banana and orange can also be used. Chill overnight and serve.