Putting a healthy and delicious meal on the table, whether it’s for yourself or the entire family, can be a really stressful endeavor. After all, most families in America have both parents working, office hours stretch longer and longer, and there always seems to be a latest food item that is a no-no for health. Planning meals that are as delicious as they are nutritious can definitely get overwhelming, and with prices going up on many goods, sometimes the entire budget can get thrown off.

Meanwhile, for those households where sustainable practices are just as important as price, it’s good to know that the rates on things like Alaska Salmon are now at a better cost than ever. With salmon harvesting season stretching yearlong for many different species, it means there are more salmon than ever before, at a much friendlier price.

Here are a couple of recipes that will spruce up any dinner plate, while staying healthy and not contributing to the rampant overfishing practices that are currently plaguing the world’s oceans.

Old-Fashioned Salmon and Caper Fishcakes

Ingredients:

Fishcakes:

8 oz. Alaska Salmon
8 oz. Mashed Potato, creamed
2 tablespoons Capers, drained and chopped
2 Hard-Boiled Eggs, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons Fresh Parsley
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed)
3 pinches Cayenne Pepper
3 pinches Black Pepper
4 pinches Salt

Coating:
1 Egg, beaten
3 oz. Dry Breadcrumbs
Canola Oil and Butter

Steps:

Combine all ingredients for the fishcakes together in a large mixing bowl, adding additional seasoning to taste. Remember that if the potatoes or the Wild Salmon was just cooked, you should chill the entire mixture until it is nice and firm, usually around an hour.

After everything is ready to go, lightly flour a cutting board or other work surface, rolling the fish mixture into a long roll, which should be about two inches in diameter. From here, you can slice 12 evenly-sized round pieces, which are the individual fishcakes.

Press them into a flattened shape, then dip them into the coating, starting with the egg and finishing with the breadcrumbs. Shallow-fry each fishcake in the oil and butter, until both sides are equally golden-brown.

Hearty Lentil Puttanesca With Wild Salmon

Ingredients:

Four 6-ounce Wild Salmon fillets, with pin bones and skin removed
1 cup water
1/2 cup lentils, rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons capers
1/4 cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives
1 teaspoon minced anchovies
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup diced canned tomatoes
1/2 lemon, juiced
Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

Steps:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. In a small saucepan, add the cup of water to the half-cup of rinsed lentils. Bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook the lentils for 15 minutes, then drain them and set them aside.

Season the salmon steaks with salt and pepper to taste, on both sides. In a large sauté pan, over a medium to high heat, add a tablespoon of olive oil. Once the oil is hot and simmering, but not spitting, add the salmon. Cook for three minutes on each side, then remove them to a baking sheet and place it in the oven.

Add the final tablespoon of olive oil to the same pan, increasing the flame to a high heat, and adding the onions, capers, olives, and anchovies. Stir, and add the garlic and red pepper flakes once the onions are starting to caramelize. Sauté for another two minutes, then add the tomatoes and the lemon juice. Reduce the heat and cook for three minutes, then add the lentils.

Remove the salmon from the onion and serve each fillet with the puttanesca, garnishing with basil.