Best Salmon Casserole

Salmon casserole plated with steamed asparagus, boiled buttered potatoes and fresh tomatoes.

My mother used to make this casserole when there were only two kids home (out of six) as a Friday night rotation. Remember, no meat on Fridays! Casseroles are so old fashioned but this one is truly a “Best Salmon Casserole” and great to make when you have nothing in the house as it uses canned salmon. I used to make this when our kids were young and everyone loved it.

So with Steve and his cancer taking over his appetite – and he needs to eat to be nourished to get well, I have been beside myself trying to figure things out – which, by the way, seem to change hourly. So I thought I’d try to go back to basics – to this old-fashioned salmon casserole recipe from my mother.

What is it – with all us?

It seems that you reach a certain age and all hell breaks loose just when you’re looking to relax just a little bit?

Poor Maureen at Orgasmic Chef – her husband had a very bad fall and is suffering from a head injury.  “John fell while going up the stairs to bed and hit his head on a rendered brick wall. A fractured skull, bleeding in the brain, pneumonia and a couple of other things ended up with him in an induced coma and on a breathing machine.” How awful and how very sorry we all are to hear this, Maureen.

And then Maureen, herself, is dealing with lots of pain due to Forestier’s Disease/DISH disease. While she says, “I have a doctor I trust completely and that means so much. While there is no cure for the disease I have, it is manageable if the right medicines are found. My problem has always been that I don’t react well to most all pain relievers. Recently, I was headed to blindness before we tracked the culprit down and reversed the changes to my eyesight by stopping a drug. Now I wear a patch on my back that has brought me to nearly normal most days.”

I am waiting for my husband to get a CT scan to ascertain what is going on. His platelets are too low to go back on the cancer medication. My neck and shoulders are killing me from stress. Writing this here in the waiting room is helping.

Monitoring, helping, advocating is more than a full time job, which is why I’ve been away for over 5 weeks. Cancer is a moving target and Steve’s is a nasty aggressive one. But we are fighting back with all our might.

Make this Best Salmon Casserole and get some good comforting protein. Nothing better than a good ‘ole recipe from Mom.

BEST SALMON CASSEROLE – serves 4

¼ cup unsalted butter
2 Tbs. flour
1 heaping tsp. dried Coleman’s mustard
½ tsp. salt
Fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbs. chopped fresh chives
1 can (1 lb.) red sockeye salmon – drain in a 1 cup measure to save juice, remove skin and crush bones
Milk or unsweetened almond milk
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
½ cup panko
2 Tbs. melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Butter a 2-quart casserole.

Place eggs in a small sauce pan and cover with 1” of water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and cover with cold water to cool before peeling.

Prepare the salmon in a medium sized bowl – drain the juices into a 1-cup measure, remove skin, crush bones, and flake.

Peel the eggs and chop. Add the eggs to the salmon. Just look at this beautiful blue eggshell, inside and out! Eggs are from Mike and Cindy’s Thunderhill Farm in upstate New York.

Melt butter in a small pot. Whisk in flour, mustard, salt and pepper. Cook for a bit, to color this mixture to cook the flour to make a roux. When browned a little, add milk to the juices to measure one full cup and gradually add the liquid into the roux, whisking constantly until sauce is smooth. Simmer and whisk until thickened.

Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the chives. Add the sauce to the salmon and eggs and fold all together to combine completely. Place the mixture in your prepared casserole. Sprinkle panko evenly on top and drizzle with the melted butter.

Bake for 15 minutes and serve. Delish!

P.S. It’s interesting that my mother’s recipe says it serves 6 – and it probably did in those days as people ate less! But I think it’s safe to say it serves 4. This would make a great lunch entrée as well!