Salmon Croquettes with Lemon-Mayo

Today I had an appointment with my gastroenterologist. Everything went well but he asked me to get some blood tests to check my white blood cell counts. There was a long lineup at the outpatient lab so I made good use of my time and did some recipe planning on my blackberry.

A while ago, canned salmon was on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart. Naturally, I stocked up. I tried to have the canned salmon for lunch in a cold salad but was put off by the fishy taste.

Using Google to look up "canned salmon recipes", I came across this Lemon Salmon Burger recipe.

Obviously I had to make some adjustments to suit my dietary restrictions (substitute bread crumbs, omit red pepper flakes and onion), but I was determined to have some yummy salmon for lunch.

When I got home, I considered defrosting the gluten-free bread I had in the freezer for bread crumbs. Then, I realized what I could use instead: stale potato chips!

There aren't many snacks I can have that are cheap and readily available but plain potato chips are often made with just potatoes, oil and salt. I usually buy the Lay's brand "lightly salted" variety. My bag of potato chips has been going stale for a week. I was ready to throw them out but thought "people use stale bread in recipes all the time, why not use stale potato chips?"

Ingredients:
For the croquettes:

1 can salmon (I used Clover Leaf brand Wild Red Pacific Sockeye Salmon).
If you see salmon skin and bones, try to remove these as best as possible. In a croquette, these are just not appetizing.

1 small ziplock bag full of potato chips (about 30 chips), crushed in bag.

Handful of parsley, washed and chopped.

2 eggs (beaten)

Salt (about 1 tsp) and pepper (about 8 grinds of the pepper mill)

2-5 tbsp Cooking oil (I used leftover bacon grease)

For the lemon-mayo:

2 tbsp mayo

Juice of 1/4 lemon

Pinch of dried basil

Directions:

1) In a medium bowl, combine salmon, potato chips, parsley, egg, salt and pepper.

2) Heat a non-stick pan to medium (6) and add cooking oil.

3) Form the croquettes using a fork and the palm of your hand. Place each croquette in the pan as it is formed.

4) Cook croquettes on first side until bottom is slightly browned (approximately 5 mins). Flip the croquette and brown the other side (approximately 3 mins). Depending on the size of your pan, you may need to repeat this process a few times. Give the croquettes at least a 1/2 inch "breathing space" on each side.

5) While croquettes are cooking, mix mayo, lemon juice and basil in a small bowl.

6) Serve immediately. Makes about 8 palm-sized croquettes.

I have a few croquettes left over- these would be delicious with a salad for dinner tonight. You can also make the croquettes smaller and serve with a variety of flavored mayos as an appetizer or finger food.