Fresh Salmon-Cilantro Burgers

Wegman's has these great salmon club packs, which are a bunch of individually-wrapped 5 oz salmon fillets.  It makes life so much easier to thaw out the exact amount you need.  For a really quick weeknight meal and a great way to get in that serving of fish without it tasting too 'fishy', Fresh Salmon-Cilantro burgers are the ticket.  The picture is a little deceiving--I mis-measured the amount of fish we needed because we cut this in half. So these portions are about 2 oz larger than what they should be.  I haven't made the salad that they pair with these burgers but it sounds tasty.  

Do you have one of those Cuisinart mini-prep food processors? If not, and you like to cook, this is an incredible tool to have in your kitchen.  It's much smaller than the regular size food processor and it makes creating patties like the ones in this recipe soooo simple.  Definitely the type of kitchen appliance that would fit in a downtown studio apartment.

We don't make any changes to this recipe but usually half it and it works out fine (unless your math is wrong :] ).  

I have to acknowledge my guest blogger Mimi (Pepper) who co-authored this post.  She sat on the keyboard while I was typing because of the thunderstorm.  This is her good side.

 As of today's post 15 people gave this an average rating of 4 out of 5!

Enjoy, and take a walk afterward to de-stress and get some exercise!

Recipe by Jackie Mills, Cooking Light, May 2009

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 burger)

Ingredients

• 1/4  cup  reduced-fat mayonnaise
• 1  tablespoon  chopped fresh cilantro
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
• 1/8  teaspoon  salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1  (1-pound) salmon fillet, skinned and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4  cup  dry breadcrumbs
• 2  tablespoons  cilantro leaves
• 2  tablespoons  chopped green onions
• 1  tablespoon  chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
• 2  tablespoons  fresh lime juice
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 4  (1 1/2-ounce) hamburger buns with sesame seeds, toasted
• 12  (1/4-inch-thick) slices English cucumber
• 4  leaf lettuce leaves

Preparation

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; cover and chill.
2. Place salmon in a food processor; pulse until coarsely chopped. Add breadcrumbs and next 6 ingredients (through 1/4 teaspoon black pepper); pulse 4 times or until well blended. Divide salmon mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 3/4-inch-thick patty.
3. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add patties to pan; cook 2 minutes. Carefully turn patties over; cook 2 minutes or until done.
4. Spread about 1 tablespoon mayonnaise mixture over bottom half of each hamburger bun. Top each serving with 1 salmon patty, 3 cucumber slices, 1 lettuce leaf, and top half of bun.
Spinach salad: Combine 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons canola oil, 2 teaspoons water, and 1/4 teaspoon chile paste in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add half of 1 (5-ounce) package baby spinach, 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper strips, and 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion to bowl; toss to coat.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 341

Fat: 11.5g (sat 2g,mono 2.9g,poly 4.9g)

Protein: 31.6g

Carbohydrate: 30.9g

Fiber: 1.8g

Cholesterol: 66mg

Iron: 2.2mg

Sodium: 816mg

Calcium: 67mg