Salmon Burgers

I have been wanting to try making salmon burgers for a while, and I finally found a recipe that looked good - and they were amazing! This is a Paula Deen recipe, which surprised me because it is a pretty healthy recipe. I liked how  she used raw salmon fillets that you chop, rather than canned salmon.  I think it makes a huge difference in the flavor and texture.  The prep work in terms of removing the skin from the salmon and chopping them along with the bell peppers and garlic takes a little bit of time. If you do all the chopping ahead of time (I did it a few hours ahead when I had 20 minutes), then all you have to do is toss the ingredients together at dinner time.  The garlic sesame mayonnaise is key with these burgers! I used light mayo, and since I only used  a teaspoon or two per burger, it really didn't add much fat or calories, but did add great flavor that complimented the salmon. A little lettuce, tomato and avocado, along with a whole wheat bun, topped these burgers off well.  I am excited to try these burgers out in the summer time on the grill!

Salmon Burgers

Makes 4 burgers

Ingredients

1/4 cup organic red bell pepper, diced small
1/4 cup organic orange bell pepper, diced small
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp panko bread crumbs
1 garlic clove, minced
1 pound wild salmon fillets, skinned and finely chopped
1 large organic free range egg, lightly beaten
2 tsp organic tamari (or soy sauce is fine too)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

1. In medium mixing bowl combine peppers, panko bread crumbs, garlic, and salmon.

2. In small mixing bowl, combine egg, miring, lemon juice, and salt; add to salmon mixture and toss gently to combine evenly.  Form into 4 patties.

3. Heat grill pan, with top, over medium-high heat until hot.  Reduce heat to medium and place patties on pan and place top on burgers. Grill for about 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

4. Serve on whole wheat buns with garlic sesame mayonnaise (recipe below).

Garlic Sesame Mayonnaise

Ingredients

1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp organic miring (or say sauce is fine too)
1/4 tsp sesame oil

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to a small bowl and stir until evenly combined.

(Burger and mayonnaise recipes adapted from Paula Deen's recipes on foodnetwork.com)

What are the nutritional benefits of this meal? Wild salmon gives nice dose of omega-3s and protein. Bell peppers are one of the best food sources of vitamins A and C. Avocados are rich in monounsaturated fats that have been shown to boost HDL (good cholesterol), and are an excellent source of vitamins C,E and carotenoids lycopene and beta carotene, as well as the minerals selenium and zinc. Tomatoes are high in vitamin C and lycopene. Choosing whole wheat buns, as opposed to white buns, provides more fiber and nutrients, particularly B vitamins, vitamin E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, copper, and iron because they are less refined.