I love fish, but I'll be honest with you, I'm not very confident about cooking it. Everyone always says "It's so easy to cook fish!" But let me tell you, there are a lot of fish-cooking disasters in my past.
However, fish is an important addition to any healthy diet. Fish (especially wild caught salmon) is high in omega 3 fatty acids, which are important for a whole host of reasons. Fish is also relatively lean (compared to beef and other mammals), and has a lot of valuable vitamins and minerals. Fish is an important part of the Paleo diet and other low-carb plans. Not to mention the old "fish on Fridays" rule for Catholics.
But what the heck do you do with it?
This Huffington Post article has a lot of great recommendations. (My favorite is the suggestion to order it at a restaurant.) (Of course, it can be hard to find fish at a restaurant that isn't breaded, battered, or otherwise carbed up.)
I have been able to find canned wild-caught salmon at the store (near the canned tuna). I have been using this to make salmon croquettes once a week, which is a relatively stress-free way to get your fish.
Croquettes are simple: just mix one can of fish with one egg and about a cup of whatever starch you have on hand. (In the past I have used leftover mashed potatoes or cooked brown rice. These days I use cooked quinoa, and add an extra egg as additional binder to make up for the lack of starch.) Add a dash of salt, pepper and a little seasoning (like thyme) if you're feeling fancy.
Add a heavy splash of oil to a skillet and heat it over medium heat until the oil shimmers. Spoon out the mixture, about 1/4th cup apiece, into big dollops in the pan. Mash them down a little with the back of a spoon if they are too tall.
Let them cook for about five minutes on one side, then gently flip and cook for about two more minutes on the other side. Serve with tartar sauce or garlic aioli. Yum!
Image courtesy Flickr/mcrosacci
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