Quickie: Salmon burgers with salmoriglio

I'm not always in the mood for a huge bacon cheeseburger, and I'm expecting next week in particular to be red-meat-a-licious, so I decided to take it easy this weekend with a salmon burger recipe. It was topped with one of the greatest condiments ever designed.

So in case you've never heard of it, there is this incredible sauce called salmoriglio. Salmoriglio, which is the Italian name for what Sicilians call "salmurigghiu" (how cool is Sicilian?), is a fresh and vibrant dressing with elements that would match a lighter burger perfectly. Its genius is a mix of lemon and fresh herbs, fresh garlic and the best olive oil. In Sicilian cuisine it is often used as a brine for fish, but it can be added to any light protein, blanched vegetables, or new potatoes.

A delicious meal for summer.

Recently, I made wild sockeye salmon burgers with heaps of this glorious stuff, grilled red peppers, salmon skin, Bonnie and Floyd washed-rind sheep's milk cheese from Fifth Town on a Portuguese-style bun. It was incredible.

There has been consternation for several weeks now that Fifth Town is about to cease production. I just want to reassure the cheese-loving population of Ontario and beyond that our beloved LEED Platinum purveyors are in restructuring, a process which may lead to a sustainable company in the future. Don't mourn before the patient is deceased.

Stay tuned this week for my review of Absinthe Café as well as another recipe. 



What you'll need (makes four)


Burgers
Four salmon patties (see here)
Two red bell peppers, chopped into large slices
50g Bonnie and Floyd, sliced thinly (I'm a snob, but any semi-soft sheep or goat's milk cheese will do)
The skin from your salmon filet
Four amazing buns, preferably Portuguese or Italian white that are flour-dusted.
Salmoriglio

"Real" Salmoriglio
1/2 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves*
2 tbsp fresh oregano leaves
Zest of half a lemon
Juice of one lemon
2 cloves garlic
100mL olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Yours will be greener; I put the parsley component in the burger itself.

If you can whiz the ingredients in a blender or food processor, you're good to go, otherwise you'll have to mince the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Make the sauce well enough in advance for the flavours to meld - at least two hours but overnight if possible. The salt content shouldn't be ignored; you want to balance some of the acidity from the lemon.

You can make the salmon burgers like I did in this recipe, because they're good!  When making my burgers this time, (*) I actually kept the parsley out and added it right to the patty instead, which wilted it and brought out more of its gentle verdancy. If you choose to do so, cut the parsley by half. Lay your cheese on the patties after the first flip to ensure that it melts on time.

Pepper, cheese, patty, skin - twixt salmoriglio'd buns.

Cut the red peppers into large slices or thirds - you can use one whole side as a large slab of red peppers if you'd like. Grill them until they're nice and sweet and show lots of char. They'll act as a nice counterbalance to the tart and salt from the other toppings. They need about seven minutes a side on medium-high heat.

Salmon skin can be carefully draped over the grill, because it is difficult to handle when raw. It will crisp up pretty quickly, but tastes good when browned. Start with the outside facing down, then flip when ready. It won't stay hot for that long, so do this when you toast your buns.

Shot in natural light. God that tasted good.

Make yourself a nice fresh salad as a side to this healthy burger.

Construction

Bun top
Salmoriglio
Red pepper
Cheese
Patty
Skin
Salmoriglio
Bun bottom