Wild Salmon Better than Farm Raised Salmon – Probably True – But Wild Salmon Tastes Too Wild for Me – How to Take the Wild Taste out of Wild Salmon – For Me It Had to be Done – Recipe Developing Success – Salmon Flavor from Wild to Mild –

This is my first attempt at developing a recipe that lessens the strong taste of wild salmon, which I, personally, do not like. The last time we bought salmon we chose wild salmon rather than farm-raised, because I’d read it was a better choice for a healthful diet. I won’t refute this claim or advocate it. I don’t know. The fact is that we bought wild salmon and paid a hefty price for it. We bought it at Costco, and I’m sure it was fresh. I baked it the next day with herbs and butter. Steve seemed okay with it but I was not, and I still have several small packages of frozen wild salmon to serve.

Here is what I did to reduce the strong flavor: First I heated the fillets in a fry pan just long enough to remove the skin, and I cut off the grayish layer of fat from each piece and cut them into smaller pieces. I put them in a sauce pan covered with water, added some spices, and simmered them for a few minutes. I used a slotted spoon to remove the pieces from the broth and a fork to flake the salmon meat, making it useful for salmon patties. I strained the broth to get rid of the whitish stuff that appeared when I simmered the salmon pieces. At this point, I could have added a small portion of the broth to moisten the flaked meat, some chopped onion, gluten-free crumbled biscuit, an egg, and made salmon patties. This is what I will do the next time.

Here is how the salmon casserole came into being: I had 16 ounces of ricotta cheese that I decided I should use. It was leftover from my gluten-free lasagna/penne dish. In a separate bowl I added an egg and chopped fresh parsley to the ricotta cheese. Then to the flaked salmon I added celery and onion sauteed in butter, gluten-free crumbled biscuits, two eggs, more spices, and the strained salmon broth. I put a layer of the salmon mixture in the bottom of a baking dish, then I added the ricotta mixture as the center layer. Next, I added the remainder of the salmon mix on top. I baked it in a 350 degree oven for an hour and made a small amount of Alfredo sauce to drizzle over it. The casserole was good, but I will not purchase ricotta cheese to duplicate this casserole. I will make salmon patties out of the rest of our wild salmon, which is much easier and just as good. Maybe I’ll use a jar of marinara sauce to serve on top, eliminating one more task from my labor.

Will I buy wild salmon again? I might. The first thing Steve said when he tasted the casserole was this: “No strong flavor of wild salmon!”

I never thought I’d try developing my own recipes. What caused the change in my plans? Wheat allergy. Simple. If I want good gluten-free food, I must learn to prepare it. Now that I’ve been doing this recipe development thing, I like it. Who woulda thought?