A Good Dish

making food simpler

Classic Cocktail Sauce Or What To Cook When Moving And Cleaning Out Your Fridge And Freezer!

Classic homemade cocktail sauce
with wild Gulf shrimp
Porcelain bowls by Kevin Caufield

Seasons come and seasons go. That is the rhythm of the year. For me, opposite of most people, the hardest transition is spring. I love the coziness of winter, the fresh, crisp, sometimes bracing cold air, baking bread, steaming bowls of soup and the openness of the sky with no leafy canopy of leaves to obscure it. Don’t get me wrong—spring is beautiful with all the verdant greens and continual parade of colorful blossoms and flowers. I just know the heat and humidity that is lurking ahead. 

Spring tulips

And what to cook and eat in spring is less clear. Of course, fiddleheads and asparagus and soon strawberries will be abundant. This year is a little more complicated as we are packing to make our 10th move in three years and there hasn’t been a lot of time to browse cookbooks or flip through recipe files. Mostly I am trying to use up the contents of our current freezer and fridge as much as possible so we have a little less to move. It is a good practice to add to your spring clean anyway, as food wasn’t meant to be stored in there for years!

A good fresh horseradish
makes a big difference in flavor
Add your favorite hot sauce to
spice things up

This week as I fill and weave amongst the moving boxes, bins and IKEA bags, we will be eating pasta with pesto, both the regular basil as well as a tub fennel pesto I unearthed at the bottom the freezer. I will simmer sliced carrots and celery, perhaps with some mushrooms, onions and leftover rice, in the defrosted jars of chicken stock, topped off with the remaining half bag of frozen peas. The frozen berries and bananas will get blended with the yogurt and kefir left in the fridge for breakfast smoothies. Finally, the pound of wild gulf shrimp I stashed away when it was on sale will get boiled and chilled for a giant, old school shrimp cocktail. I gave up jarred cocktail sauce long ago because of all the added sugar, often high fructose corn syrup, and because I can make it exactly the way we like it, full of fresh horseradish and lemon juice. Many of you probably make your own already. If you like it spicy, as we do, add hot sauce or tabasco. Whip some up (takes only a few minutes) and serve with shrimp, lobster, oysters or even crudités for the gorgeous week ahead. Then enjoy your tidy freezer and have a happy Memorial Day. 

Classic cocktail sauce with shrimp
Bowls by Kevin Caufield

CLASSIC COCKTAIL SAUCE 

Stir together just to blend:

  • 1/2 cup ketchup 
  • 2-3 TBs prepared white horseradish, to taste 
  • 1-2 TBs fresh lemon juice, to taste
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp hot sauce, sriracha or Tabasco 
  • 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Chill and serve. Keeps up to one week refrigerated.

So many possibilities….

KEVIN CAUFIELD make traditional pottery, including for restaurants, in St Paul, Minnesota. I won these two lovely little bowls submitting a cornbread recipe to the Northern Clay Center Chili Cook Off. His work is available at Northern Clay Center.

A Tasty Main Course Salad You Can Make From Pantry Supplies With An Unlikely Ingredient – Sardines

“Pantry” salad with chips
Glazed porcelain plate by Doug Peltzman

I’ve never liked sardines but I finally found a way to eat them other than holding my nose and swallowing. In fact, I think I like this sardine recipe even more than tuna salad (which I don’t eat anymore because of the high mercury content). Before I tell you how I prepared the sardines, let me tell you a few reasons for even bothering to eat them. First of all, sardines with bones are among the healthiest of all fish for us because they are small and low on the food chain (not having ingested lots of toxins like larger fish), high in omega-3 fatty acids (the kind that may prevent cardiovascular disease) and provide us with high quality protein and easily absorbable forms of calcium and vitamins B12 and D. Sardines are always on the list of sustainably sourced fish and they are often canned in olive oil, one of the healthiest oils, or just in water. And, right now during this pandemic, they are a readily available source of fish and can be ordered.

Wild tinned sardines are a widely available and inexpensive source of fish

Some people like sardines out of the tin on a buttered cracker or toast. I can manage that if I have to but never found it delicious. I would have to add equal parts butter to the sardines but then they wouldn’t be at all healthy anymore. My parents used to eat them with vinegar and chopped onion but I’ve never loved raw onion so never adopted that version. Not unlike my recipe for tinned salmon salad, I mix rinsed sardines with a long list of ingredients which is flexible and ever-changing. If you don’t have or really can’t stomach sardines, this recipe will improve your tinned tuna, mackerel or salmon, probably even mashed beans. Chopped toasted almonds would be good in place of sesame seeds and if you don’t have fresh dill, use dried or try thyme or cilantro or just parsley. If you prefer mayo to yogurt, use it or just use mustard. If you don’t have or want to use Parmesan, use cottage cheese or Cheddar or leave out the cheese altogether.  Should you only have one tin of sardines, you could beef up the salad with a cup of cooked beans or a hard-boiled egg or two. You can use just lemon or pickle juice (or substitute vinegar) but I think both makes for better flavor. I didn’t have pickles so I used olive brine this time. If you want to toss in some chopped pickles, carrots, jicama or peppers, a spoonful of relish or some chutney, you would only be adding layers of flavor. In my mind the whole purpose is to tame the fishiness (yes, I said it) of the sardines. I think it works! Let’s make up another name, like Pantry Salad, to make it more appealing. When it gets hotter this summer, you won’t have to turn on the stove to make this. Serve as a sandwich, with crackers or alongside a shredded carrot, green or fennel salad and you’ll have a satisfying, inexpensive and tasty lunch or dinner by just shopping in your pantry and refrigerator.

This tasty salad goes equally well with crackers or bread or a vegetable salad
Porcelain plate by Doug Peltzman

PANTRY SALAD

Mash the contents of 2 tins sardines with bones (3 small headless fish in each 4.375 oz tin)and mix together with:

  • 2 TBs plain Greek yogurt
  • 2-3 TBs grated Parmesan
  • 2 TBs Dijon mustard
  • 1 TB lemon juice
  • 1 TB pickle juice
  • Zest of one lemon
  • 2 TBs chopped fresh dill (or 2 tsps dried)
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • 1-2 chopped scallions or 1 TBs finely minced red onion
  • 1 TB relish, capers or chopped olives or pickles, optional

Top with toasted sesame seeds or chopped toasted almonds and parsley

Porcelain plate verso by Doug Peltzman
(It even has a hole through the foot foot for hanging on a wall)
Tree Peony

Try Substituting Salmon For Tuna When You Make A Curried Salad Or Sandwich

Curried Salmon Salad
Porcelain Bowl by Claire Weissberg/Claireware

I like tuna but I don’t eat it. It simply has too much mercury for me. Same goes for swordfish and tilefish but there are plenty of other fish to eat that are healthier. According to the Environmental Defense Fund, mercury is toxic to our nervous systems (which are already under attack from stress) so it is important to avoid ingesting it when we are able. (I have a particularly high mercury level because we used to play with liquid mercury as kids – so much fun and who knew it was dangerous but now we know to keep kids safe from it). Fortunately canned wild salmon is a great substitute for canned tuna.

Canned salmon is easy to buy and store

Some time ago, we had a terrific curried tuna sandwich at the wonderful Flour Bakery (our go-to spot for grabbing something delicious to eat when taking the train at nearby South Station) in the seaport district of Boston (which includes the Institute of Contemporary Art, Society of Arts and Crafts and the fabulous Trillium Brewery). I like curried chicken salad but had never had curried tuna. Recently, browsing through Joanna Chang’s flour cookbook, I came across her curried tuna recipe decided to try re-creating it using salmon. I use canned salmon for salmon burgers and make a salmon salad with it but I had never tried it with curry. It actually tasted great! We don’t use mayo so I moistened it with lime juice (you could use lemon) and kefir (you could use plain yogurt or mayo depending on your preferences) and I added currants where I think the Flour sandwich had raisins. I like a lot of vegetables to lighten the density of most foods I make so I added scallions (you could use red onions), celery and cilantro (or try parsley). Other add-ins could be radish, jicama, green or red pepper, hard boiled eggs, almonds or chilis, all cut in small pieces.

You could serve the curried salmon just like you would tuna – on a bed of greens, stuffed into celery, baked in hollowed out peppers or rolled up in cabbage leaves or in a pita, wrap or bread with grated carrots, sliced tomatoes and arugula, watercress, sunflower sprouts or lettuce for a deliciously different sandwich.

Curried Salmon Sandwich
Painted/Resist Plate from Claireware in Brooklyn

CURRIED SALMON SALAD

Mix together:

  • 1 can salmon (14.75 oz, preferably wild), skin removed if you like, mashed with a fork
  • 2 stalks celery, cut in a tiny dice
  • 2-3 scallions, finely chopped
  • A big handful fresh cilantro or parsley, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1 small apple, halved, cored and cut in a fine dice
  • 2 heaping TBs dried currants
  • 1 generous TBs curry powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 TBs freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 3 TBs plain kefir or yogurt
  • Pinch salt and pepper

Serves 4. Can be refrigerated for a couple of days in a covered container.

Cold Salmon Salad with Dill

Salmon Salad plates by Andrew Martin
Salmon Salad
plates by Andrew Martin

Canned salmon may not be in your pantry but it has become a staple in mine. A few weeks ago, I wrote about cooked salmon cakes made with canned salmon. Since this is a series on no-cook dishes, I am offering an easier, quicker and much cooler preparation –  a salmon salad. It is a terrific substitute for tuna salad since it doesn’t have a high mercury content, is made with mustard, not mayo, so it picnics well and makes a substantial sandwich filling.

The benefits of wild salmon are many – high in omega-3’s, lean protein, good tasting and well-sourced. The ease of having it on your shelf in a can means you aren’t limited to a season plus it is much more economical – from about $4 – $6 per 14.75 oz can. (If price were no issue, you could make this salad with leftover cooked fresh salmon and it would be delicious in a different way). Tinned wild salmon comes with bones, which are high in calcium, and just mash up into the salmon so you don’t even notice them. I discard the skin since I don’t like the texture (it only takes a moment to scrape it off). Plus, I read recently that the skin is where most chemical residue resides so I prefer not to ingest it. 

This recipe is quick and can stay in the refrigerator for a day or so. I like to add lots of celery, scallions and chopped celery leaves but you may prefer green peppers, red onion and parsley. I add a little chopped sweet pickles and some pickle juice if I am in the mood for something sweeter but I always add plenty of dill – fresh, if I have it, or dried, if I don’t. If you hate dill, use a different herb, like tarragon or basil, for example. If you don’t like mustard, you could use plain yogurt or mayonnaise. Or use a flavored mustard with herbs or horseradish. You could add finely diced carrots, jicama, jalapeño or cucumber for crunch. If I were making this for company, I would add a couple of chopped hard-boiled eggs and a big handful of chopped almonds. It is pretty served on a bed of greens with whole grain crackers or carrot, celery and pepper strips. We sometimes pile it on Wasa or Finn Crisp crackers and eat it like an open face sandwich. It is fun to embellish with thin cucumber slices, grated carrots, sunflower sprouts or whatever you like – an easy, cold meal on a hot day.

COLD SALMON SALAD

Mix together:

  • 1 14.75 oz can wild salmon, rinsed, drained, skin removed and mashed with a fork
  • 2-3 stalks celery, with leaves if you like them, chopped finely
  • 3 scallions, chopped finely
  • 1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped or 1-1 1/2 TBs dried dill weed – or more if you like it
  • 3 TBs Dijon mustard
  • 1 TBs fresh lemon juice (or pickle juice, if you like)
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 5-6 slices sweet pickles or 3-4 gherkins, chopped finely (optional)
  • 2 medium to hard-boiled eggs, chopped or mashed with a fork (optional)
  • 1/2 cup raw, roasted or Marcona almonds, chopped (optional)

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Feeds 4 people with a green salad or 2 with enough leftover for 2 sandwiches.

Salmon Salad Sandwich with grated carrots, lettuce and cucumber on whole grain bread
Salmon Salad Sandwich with grated carrots, lettuce and cucumber on whole grain bread

Salmon Burgers Make an Easy and Economical Meal

Salmon burgers plate by Chandra DeBuse
Salmon burgers
plate by Chandra DeBuse

Salmon burgers, patties, cakes, croquettes, or whatever you prefer to call them, probably aren’t the first thing you think of when compiling a grocery list. You should keep them in mind, however, because salmon burgers are easy to make, economical, healthy and can be eaten hot or cold, giving you flexibility in timing when you make and serve them. They fit into all but vegetarian and vegan diets yet there is probably some seasoning blend, perhaps with Italian herbs or curry, that would make a meatless soy version acceptable.

I try to make fish or seafood at least 3 times a week, especially fish rich in desirable omega-3 fatty acids like wild salmon, sardines and Arctic char. In winter, I bake fish simply with a little white wine and herbs but as the weather turns warmer, I try not to turn on the oven.

More and more, it is difficult to stay informed on which fish are not contaminated, wild or sustainably farmed and therefore safe to eat. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has a new app –  Seafood Watch – which makes this much easier. They do the work to keep up with the best choices for fish and other seafood, good alternatives when your favorite is tainted and what to avoid based on sustainability issues. It’s free to download and makes shopping for fish much simpler.

On days when what is available at the grocery seafood counter doesn’t look appealing or prices are astronomical, I look for other ways to serve fish to my family. Sometimes I make a canned salmon salad (recipe coming this summer). Other times, I sauté frozen scallops or make pasta with fresh or tinned clams. I’ve even been known to serve fish sticks on occasion (from deep water fish) or simply open and plate a can of sprats (smoked sardines) when it is really to hot to do anything else.

Canned salmon is easy to buy and store
Canned salmon is easy to buy and store

A few weeks my sister told me her family loves the salmon patties she makes them for dinner. I make frozen, pre-made wild salmon burgers (from Costco) as a back up when I don’t have a better dinner option, but why not make them myself? How hard could it be? Lots of recipes for salmon burgers call for chopping up fresh fish but with the price of wild salmon hovering between 20 and 30 dollars per pound, I am not about to use it for a burger. I followed my sister’s lead and used canned wild salmon: much more economical (between $4-6 per can), shelf stable and available year round. She learned the recipe from a mother at her daughter’s pre-school and adapted it to fit her current gluten-free diet by substituting almond flour for bread crumbs. Smart. Just as I added my own twist with fresh herbs, pickles and mustard, you can adjust it to suit your tastes.

cooked salmon burgers
cooked salmon burgers

Traditional salmon croquettes contain about half potatoes. Because this recipe substitutes vegetables and a small amount of almond flour for the potatoes, the fish is the main event. I added some chopped sweet pickles to a batch with tasty results. If you use a cast iron pan for its heat retaining quality, the patties cook quickly so they won’t overheat your kitchen. Broiling is even faster (but make sure to oil your pan to avoid sticking) if you are willing to turn on the oven. I serve them with some horseradish mustard (half Dijon mustard, half horseradish with a dash of pickle juice). Susie said her family likes them with a crunchy cabbage salad. We thought they were good both warm with mashed potatoes and cooked greens and cold on a green salad. You will want to double the recipe and have a few leftovers – they are even better the next day.

Susie’s Salmon Burgers

  • 1 14.75 oz can of wild red or pink salmon, rinsed, drained and mashed (I leave the bones-for the calcium and they just blend in if you mash well – but I remove the skin for aesthetic reasons although it isn’t necessary. Do as you like).
  • 3 TBs olive, avocado or coconut oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 3-5 stalks celery, depending on size, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup almond flour, breadcrumbs or ground oats
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt

The following are optional but, I think, make a big difference in flavor:

  • 1/2 cup chopped dill (optional)
  • 1/4 chopped chives (optional)
  • 1 TB chopped sweet pickles
  • 1 TB Dijon mustard (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper (optional)
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan (optional)

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 TBs oil and sauté onion until becoming clear. Add the celery and cook until it starts to soften. Add the garlic and cook one more minute.

Add the cooked vegetables to the mashed salmon and mix to combine. Add the eggs and crumbs, oats or almond flour, herbs, mustard, seasonings and the cheese, if you are using it. Mix just enough to combine. If the mixture isn’t holding together, add one more egg.

Form into medium sized burgers (I find this recipe makes 6-7 patties). Wipe out the pan you used to sauté the vegetables, add another tablespoon or 2 of oil, heat and pan fry the salmon cakes for a couple of minutes until nicely browned. Flip and cook until both sides have a nicely browned crust. Pile on a plate and continue cooking the rest, adding oil as necessary. I tried broiling the patties and they worked just fine. They had a little less crunch but a lot less fat. If you broil, definitely oil the pan.

Serve the cooked salmon burgers unadorned (or on buns, rolls or brioche), with plain or horseradish mustard if you like. These patties refrigerate very well and are quite good in a lunchbox with a salad or in a sandwich with mustard, lettuce and pickles. Makes 6-7 medium or 4 large burgers.