Light And Zippy Salmon Burger Bowl Recipe

Is this recipe for a burger or a bowl? It's actually for both, since it involves a salmon patty served with coleslaw, croutons, and cheese and topped with a tangy lemon vinaigrette. "I'm always looking for new ways to enjoy salmon," recipe developer Kate Shungu tells us, adding, "This recipe produces a bowl that's restaurant-worthy," as it combines a number of different flavors and textures. That being said, you're essentially getting a two-fer here, since you could take this same salmon patty, along with the coleslaw and cheese, and put them between two buns to make a burger sans bowl. Even the lemon vinaigrette could be transformed into a thicker sandwich spread by swapping the olive oil for mayonnaise.

To make this meal even more effort-free, Shungu suggests that you could make the salmon patties a few hours or even a day ahead of time. The vinaigrette and croutons, too, can be prepared in advance When you want to put a bowl together, all you need do is heat a patty for a minute or so in a frying pan or microwave.

The base of this dish is patties made from salmon, eggs, panko breadcrumbs, parsley, and salt served on a bed of bagged coleslaw. For the croutons, you'll need a baguette or ciabatta bread and Old Bay seasoning, while the dressing is made from olive oil, lemon juice, plain yogurt, Dijon mustard, and honey. Add some Parmesan cheese as a topping and you've got yourself a burger bowl.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together ¼ cup olive oil, lemon juice, Greek yogurt, Dijon, honey, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In another bowl, toss the cubed baguette with 1 tablespoon olive oil and the Old Bay seasoning.

Transfer the baguette cubes to a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until crisp.

In a large bowl, gently flake the salmon

Add the eggs, breadcrumbs, parsley, and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix gently to combine.

Divide the mixture into 4 portions and form into patties, about 1-inch thick.

Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the salmon patties and cook until golden brown on the bottom, about 3 to 4 minutes.

Flip and continue cooking until cooked through and golden brown, about 3 to 4 additional minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm.

Divide the coleslaw mix between 4 bowls.

Top each bowl with a salmon patty, and divide the croutons and shaved Parmesan between the bowls.

Drizzle with the lemon vinaigrette and serve.

While this salmon recipe is pretty quick and convenient as-is, you can still take some shortcuts to make it even easier. One of these would be to use packaged croutons, although in this case, if you still want the flavor of Old Bay seasoning, you could mix it into the patties. (No Old Bay on hand? Cajun seasoning will also work.) You could also use bottled salad dressing brightened up with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice. You needn't stick with a vinaigrette, either, but could branch out into something different like Caesar (check out our list of hits and misses) or even creamy coleslaw dressing (we've helpfully ranked 10 different brands).

As for the salmon, you could opt for the canned or pouched kind if the fresh stuff is too pricey for your budget. This recipe would also work with canned tuna, too, or even fresh tuna. As for the Parmesan, you could swap it out for a similar cheese like pecorino Romano or opt for a different, yet equally salmon-friendly, cheese such as feta or dill havarti.

The first step to ensuring that your salmon patties are as perfect as possible involves cooking the fish so it comes out moist, since dry fish won't hold together too well. Use a meat thermometer to check the internal temperature and remove the fish from the pan or oven once the internal temperature hits 145 F.

When you're mixing in the breadcrumbs, you should use your hands instead of a food processor or immersion blender as any electric appliance might reduce the fish mixture to mush. Be gentle as you combine the ingredients, since over-stirring may adversely affect the texture. If the mixture is too wet to form patties, add more breadcrumbs. If the patties are crumbling, stir in some yogurt or mayonnaise as a binder.

As for the aesthetics of the dish, that's where an herbal addition comes in. If you find parsley unexciting, you could opt for cilantro or chopped chives instead, but be sure to stick with something green as it will contrast nicely with the pink fish.