Does anyone like to be alone at home? Well I do. Home alone means free silence to enjoy and do whatever I like. Nothing naughty of course but to watch a film without having to explain the entire thing, or to sing at the top of my voice without being told I am attracting stray cats or to experiment with a new recipe without unnecessary kitchen management is bliss to me.

However home alone sometimes also means ‘lazy dinners’. This is when I turned to some canned goods to satisfy my hunger and indulge my lethargy. Now I am not at all a fan of tinned fish, but when it is the only ‘easy’ thing to prepare, I will not complain. This is my rustic go to recipe when I cannot be bothered having a kitchen workout.

It’s super simple, tasty and it is more than good enough for the solitary diner. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 salmon tin (425 g)
1 egg
1 (large) onion
1 lime
30g of coriander leaves
6 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of grated ginger
2 tbs of olive oil
Chilli powder
Pepper
Salt

Directions

Cut the tin open, drain the mackerel from the liquid inside it and place it in a large mixing bowl.

Clean the fish from its unnecessary bits (including bones) and set it aside.

Pound the garlic cloves to a pulp and set it aside.

Juice the lime over the filleted mackerel; add two teaspoons of chili powder, a teaspoon of pepper and dash of salt pepper to it.

Add the pounded garlic cloves and grated ginger to the salmon, give it a good mix and leave it to marinade for about 20 minutes.

Wash, clean and fine dice the onion and coriander leaves.

Add the diced onions and coriander leaves to the marinated mackerel. Mix all the ingredients until everything is well combined.

Beat the egg in a separate dish.

Pour the oil in to a saucepan and place the pan on a medium low flame.

Using your hands, take a small handful of salmon mix and make it in to a small circular like shape.

Coat the salmon cake in egg wash and place it on to the hot pan.

Fry on both sides, until it becomes slightly charred.

Repeat the process until the entire salmon mixture has been made in to cakes.

Disasters, Warnings and Tips

You can make about 15 small salmon cakes with this recipe.

If you’re not particular about the innate taste of salmon, use parsley instead of coriander leaves.

To get rid of that fish stench, wash your hands with a piece of lime.

If it's dinner for one - stick to the small sized salmon tin.

Serve this with some roasted bread, olives and cheese.

I busted a move to Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars while making this recipe. Love that song.

Charring provides a super flavour. Do not skip it!

Make Italian inspired salmon cakes by adding bell pepper, tomato, paprika and oregano.

It’s fine if the fish flakes out a little while being fried.

Make life easier for you and stick the salmon cake between a buttered burger bun, and have salmon burgers! YUM!

By Shazzana Hamid