What Are You Cooking At Home During The Coronavirus Lockdown?

16:29

April 02, 2020

As so many of us are home, we're all faced with a new dilemma: how do we cook and prepare meals, day after day, with what we've got in our pantries?

Do you ever just open the fridge and think, what can I pull together from what's leftover from last night?

Especially now, cooking and the comfort from enjoying our favorite meals and baked goods with those we love feels particularly important.

Guest

Dorie Greenspan has written 13 cookbooks, including "Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook," "Around My French Table," "Dorie's Cookies" and "Baking With Julia." She writes a column for the New York Times Magazine.

While your grocery store may be out of fresh fish, try looking in the frozen aisle.

Ingredients (Makes 6 servings):

1½ pounds (680 grams) skinless salmon fillets, cut into chunks and patted dry

½ cup (113 grams) plain Greek yogurt

½ cup (42 grams) finely chopped scallions (white and light green parts only)

½ cup (20 grams) chopped fresh dill

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (preferably French)

1 tablespoon grainy mustard (preferably French)

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed, drained, patted dry and coarsely chopped if large

1 lemon

¾ teaspoon fine sea salt, or to taste

Canola or olive oil, for cooking

6 buns (see headnote)

Working Ahead:

You can keep the burger mix in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours before cooking.

Directions:

Put the salmon in a food processor and pulse about 6 times, just until it is finely chopped. Stop before you have a paste! Put all of the remaining ingredients except the salmon, lemon and salt in a large bowl and stir to blend. Finely grate the zest of the lemon into the bowl. Stir in the salmon — use a flexible spatula and a light touch — and season with the salt. Taste and decide if you’d like more salt or want to squeeze some lemon juice into the mix.

Cover the bowl, pressing a piece of plastic wrap against the surface of the mix, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 8 hours.

When you’re ready to make the burgers, divide the salmon into 6 portions and shape each one into a patty. Place a grill pan or skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium-high heat and coat the surface with a small amount of oil (if you have a spray, use it). Cook the burgers in two batches (don’t crowd the pan) for 2 minutes on each side — you want to crisp the exterior and just warm the insides.

Serve immediately, sandwiching the burgers between the buns and topping them with whatever you choose.

Storing:

If you have leftover burgers, wrap and refrigerate them for up to 1 day; serve cold on top of a salad or reheat in a microwave.

This segment aired on April 2, 2020.