Salmon burgers

Here's another recipe from Ellie Krieger's book, Weeknight Wonders: Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes or Less.  This recipe took more like 60 minutes from start to finish, but it was definitely worth the effort. I did the prep while David answered the door for trick-or-treaters.  The cooking takes only 3 minutes.

SALMON BURGERS

adapted from Ellie Kreiger, Weeknight Wonders

4 servings

Sauce

• 1/2 c. plain low-fat Greek yogurt
• 2 T. mayonnaise
• 1 t. sriracha sauce
• 1/2 t. sesame oil
• 1/4 t. salt
• 1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

Burgers

• 1-1/3 cups bread crumbs made in a food processor using 2-3 slices (about 4 oz.) of whole wheat sandwich bread (I used buttermilk bread, recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day)
• 1 lb salmon fillet, skin removed
• 1/2 medium red pepper, roughly chopped into about 1/2" dice
• 3 scallions, cut in 1" lengths
• 3 medium cloves garlic, cut in half
• one 2" piece of fresh ginger, cut into a large dice
• 1 large egg white
• 2 T. soy sauce
• 1 t. sesame oil
• 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper

For serving

• 1 small carrot, cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler
• 3" of an English cucumber, sliced thinly
• 4 whole-grain hamburger buns (I used slices of buttermilk bread)
• 8 leaves of butter or Bibb lettuce
• sliced tomato (optional)

To make the sauce:  In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients listed for the sauce.

To make the burgers:

Cut up the salmon into about 1" pieces and then put it in the food processor and pulse until chopped; I used 6-7 pulses.  Put the salmon in a large bowl and add the bread crumbs.

Without cleaning the food processor, use it to mince the garlic and ginger (can be done together).  Leaving the garlic and ginger in the bowl, add the chopped red pepper and scallions and process until finely minced.  Add all this to the salmon mixture.

Lightly beat the egg white and add it to the bowl, along with the soy sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper.  Mix all together--easiest to do with one's hands.

Spray oil on a grill or sauté pan and heat to medium-high.  (I used a Foreman grill.)   Shape the salmon into 4 burgers and grill until just cooked through, 2-3 minutes per side.  (I did for a total of 3 minutes on the Foreman grill.)

Spread each bun with about a tablespoon of the sauce.  Serve the burgers on the bun, layered with lettuce leaves, cucumber slices, and carrot ribbons.  If you have a good garden tomato, a slice of that would be a nice addition as well.

Enjoy--this is really tasty!