Chipotle Salmon Lettuce Wrap – A meal to sing about!

I’m not allowed to sing in the car, not at home and not in the street either. It’s a hereditary condition. My mom was also forbidden to sing within our earshot. Either you can carry a tune or you can’t. So, what’s a girl to do if Neil Young reunites with Crazy Horse to make a new album entitled Americana including folk songs like “Clementine”, “She’ll Be Coming Round the Mountain” and “This Land is Your Land”? I can already hear Marvin through the bathroom door: “I can still hear you!”

Well, singing isn’t my forté, but making salmon taste delicious–there I excel. This recipe is light and enticingly spicy. The creamy slivers of avocado, the crunch of the lettuce and the tang of the watercress-onion combo set off the salmon perfectly. Serve it hot or chill it in a lunch bag–either way your tastebuds will be doing the happy dance.

Salmon Patty ingredients (makes 9 small patties – can be frozen)

• 2  7.5 oz canned salmon, drained (low sodium or regular)
• 3 eggs (organic, high omega 3)
• 2/3 – 1 c homemade breadcrumbs (or matzoh meal)
• 1 bunch watercress leaves, finely chopped
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 2 T red onion, finely chopped
• sea salt
• 2 t olive oil, sprayed or brushed on

Mix the salmon eggs and breadcrumbs.

Chop the vegetables, then add them to the salmon mixture with a little salt.

Form into 9 small flat patties.

Place the salmon patties on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Spray the patties with a little olive oil, then bake for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, turning once half way through and spraying the other side.

Chipotle Mayonnaise Sauce Ingredients

• 1 t chipotle chilis (from a small tin)
• 2 T mayonnaise
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Combine all sauce ingredients, blending in a processor to a smooth consistency. If blending by hand, use a mortar and pestle to crush the chipotle.

Chipotle Salmon Lettuce Wrap Ingredients

• 4 salmon patties
• 4-6 t chipotle mayonnaise (or Russian Dressing if you don’t like spicy)
• 4 lettuce leaves
• 1/2 small avocado, thinly sliced (squeeze on some lemon to preserve colour if slicing in advance)
• 4 cherry tomatoes as garnish

Lay the salmon patty on a lettuce leaf–cut down to size. Top with 2 small avocado slices. Drizzle on some chipotle sauce, sparingly–you can always add more. Garnish with a thinly sliced cherry tomato.

Salmon Patty Print Ready Recipe

Final notes:

• Have you been following the salmon mystery cliffhanger? Harriet Sugar Miller has us all sitting on the edge of our seats, just waiting to find out which salmon we are all supposed to be eating. This is a rather important issue. Salmon is one of the healthiest foods we can consume, but we are defeating the purpose if we select the wrong salmon. Her information is dense with facts. Convoluted facts. It is for the very brightest minds to decipher. I’m waiting anxiously for the final instalment, eager to jump right to the conclusion. Read Eat and Beat Cancer to stay informed. Perhaps her musician husband John Miller can compose a catchy folksong to help guide our informed salmon choices?
• Check out Physio Shelley Alper’s latest FitFlop Physio newsletter to find out which footwear will best support your cooking habit.