Gluten-Free Fresh Salmon Loaf

This is an updated version of one of my mother's go-to recipes: salmon loaf. She used canned salmon but I experimented with a fresh salmon steak that I had bought and didn't want to go to waste, or to make just another boring fish dinner.

Salmon can be thawed from frozen or bought fresh with the skin on but be sure the fish steak is cut lengthwise,  not across the bone. Costco has salmon steaks in their freezer section. A small hand-sized piece (or two smaller pieces together) is plenty for this recipe. 

Add your choice of vegetables to color up this fish dish: I cut the kernels from a few cobs of corn that I had boiled the day prior, along with a cup of frozen peas--throw them in a little water and they are ready in no time!

INGREDIENTS

One small (8-10 oz) salmon steak, either fresh or thawed from frozen

Small pat of butter for frying

1 tbsp olive oil

1-1/2 cups gluten-free bread crumbs or panko

1-1/2 tbsp butter

1-1/2 cups hot milk

2 eggs, well beaten

Juice of one-half lemon

2-3 lemon slices (optional)

1 tsp dill

Salt and pepper

One can whole corn, drained (optional) OR cut corn from the cob

1 cup frozen peas, cooked for a few minutes in 1 inch of water (optional)

Dried or fresh minced parsley

Cayenne pepper

White sauce or lemon sauce

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a skillet, heat the olive oil and part of the butter over medium-high heat. Rinse and pat dry the salmon steak, season lightly with salt, then add to the pan, skin side down. Put a couple of lemon slices on top of the fish and sprinkle lightly with dried dill seasoning. Turn down heat to medium as the butter gets brown. Cover and allow to sear for a few minutes, or until the fish flakes apart easily. Set aside to cool.

Butter the bottom and sides of a 2-quart bread loaf pan, preferably Corning® ware or other ceramic or non-stick bread pan.

When the salmon has cooled, break it apart with a fork and peel off the skin (if you use fresh salmon with skin), careful to be sure there are no bones anywhere. Remove skin and any bones and discard. Add salmon to a mixing bowl and continue to break into smaller chunks.

Add to the bowl: the 1-1/2 tbsp butter and the gluten-free breadcrumbs or panko. Add the hot milk, then the beaten eggs. Add dill seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Add lemon juice, about 1-2 tablespoons in all. Mix all ingredients together with a fork, taking care not to mash the salmon into too-small chunks. Add the drained canned corn (optional but recommended—I cut the kernels from a cooked cob of corn--so tasty!) and the cooked peas (if used) at this point. Lastly, mix in the fresh parsley. Pour mixture into a buttered bread pan or 2-qt casserole. (If you only have have dried parsley, sprinkle it over the top now.) 

Sprinkle a little cayenne powder over the loaf and bake in a 350° oven for 30-40 minutes, or until it is no longer wet.

Served with lemon-dill "béchamel" sauce

Serve with white sauce (also known as béchamel sauce), if desired, or lemon-dill sauce. (Lemon-dill sauce is white sauce with the addition of a bit of lemon juice and dill seasoning at the last stage of cooking.) You can find many recipes for white sauce, which is basically a butter-flour roux, milk added slowly whie cooked over boiling water. 

NOTE: If you don’t have access to fresh or frozen salmon steaks, you can substitute canned salmon. Drain well and remove any visible bones.