Gourmet Eating at Budget Prices

As food prices rise, we scale down on what we eat. Fresh salmon at $18 and up per pound--$4.40 per 4 oz. serving? No way. A can of canned wild red salmon at around $5 gives you the same Omega 3 fats and natural Vitamin D. Sure, it doesn’t look as imposing on the table nor have quite the same flavor, but it makes a handsome and satisfying salmon loaf or patties or salmon with peas in Béchamel sauce. I haven’t figured out the cost per serving of all the recipes below, but you can get an idea by comparing the price of salmon with the price of mackerel.

Salmon Cakes
4 servings
1 lb. can red wild salmon
¼ cup cooked rice or 2 Tablespoons oat bran and
2 Tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon dillweed
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup minced onion
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons oil for frying
Mix all ingredients, but hold the oil. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wide skillet. Spoon in half the salmon mixture forming 3-inch cakes Fry until bottoms are crisp and brown. Turn over. Reduce heat. Cook until cakes are solid. Repeat with the other tablespoon of oil and the rest of the salmon mixture. Transfer to an oven-proof platter and keep warm in oven while you cook the rest of the cakes. Or use two skillets and save heating the oven. Serve with salsa if desired.

The mixture salmon mixture may be baked in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes for a salmon loaf. Cost per serving: $2.00

Creamed Salmon with Peas
4 to 6 servings
2 cups plain white sauce, see below
1 lb. can red wild salmon
½ to 1 cup frozen peas
½ teaspoon dillweed
1 green onion, thinly sliced, optional
Break up the salmon chunks into bite size pieces. Add to the sauce with the peas and dillweed. Cook until peas are almost done, about 3 minutes, while stirring. Add green onion and stir-cook 1 minute. Serve over rice, polenta, or bread cubes.

White Sauce
Makes 2 cups
Roux:
¼ cup oil
¼ cup flour
Dash salt
Dash pepper
2 cups milk
In a wide, deep skillet, stir-cook the oil, flour, salt and pepper. Cool. Stir in milk. Or heat the milk in a saucepan while making the roux and gradually stir hot milk into hot roux.

An even thriftier, but tasty, loaf that also yields Omega 3 fat, but no Vitamin D, uses mackerel. I used corn flour in my mackerel loaf this time, but could have used sorghum flour or any other gluten-free flour.. The loaf below, if made with canned salmon would cost about $1.80 per serving including the herbs. Made with mackerel, it costs approximately 85 cents per serving

Mackerel Loaf
4 Servings
1 lb. can mackerel
1 teaspoon dillweed
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon black pepper
2 eggs
½ cup cooked rice
2 Tablespoons flour
2 green onions chopped finely
Mix all ingredients well. Bake in a glass or ceramic casserole at 350 degrees 25 to 30 minutes. Good with salsa.
Serve with potatoes, scrubbed, dried, oiled and baked in their skins. They will need to finish cooking in a microwave, or spend at least 1 hour in the oven.
Steamed broccoli with ranch dressing as a hot salad and sliced tomatoes garnished with minced parsley complete the menu.