We are still working our way through all the sauces I made and froze last summer.  I am always amazed at how much pesto there is in the freezer; I think it multiplies when I am not looking!

So, tonight it was time to use some pesto to make really yummy salmon cakes.  Of course, at his request, I made salmon sticks for Cam.

The funniest part of dinner was when Cam, who was no where near the kitchen when I cooked, bit into a salmon stick, smiled and asked, “is there pesto in here?”  Not a bad palate for a 3 year old!  Even better that he was bappy that there was pesto in it.  It shouldn;t be a surprise, since pesto is his preferred pasta sauce (see Cammy’s Pesto).

Anyway, back to the salmon cakes… the pesto provides both flavor and moisture to the mixture.  Tonight I added lime zest as well, I usually use lemon zest- both work really well.  For our sandwiches, I made a pesto-mayonnaise (a mixture of about 1 Tbsp pesto with 1/3 cup mayonnaise) and topped it with organic marinated tomatoes.

Pesto Salmon Cakes

1 pound canned red salmon – wild caught

1 cup panko

1/4 cup pesto, from the garden

1 egg, from Farmer Kim

1 tsp lemon or lime zest

2 Tbsp olive oil

Directions

Flake the salmon and mix with panko.

Add the pesto and mix thoroughly.

Lightly beat the egg and add it and the zest to the mixture and form into patties (or sticks).

Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Cook salmon, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Serve with pesto mayonnaise and whatever other condiments you choose. Enjoy!

Serves 4.

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• Baked salmon with sun-dried tomato pesto (thewhitedish.wordpress.com)
• Orange-Pesto Salmon (tabascoandthyme.wordpress.com)