On Play Me a Recipe, your favorite cooks will walk you through their most treasured recipes, offering all the insider tips, stories, and tricks you won't get from a written recipe—and you'll be right alongside them, every step of the way. Feel free to pause, jump back, or navigate the steps via the podcast chapters.

If you're cooking along, here's the recipe we're making today. Go ahead and grab the ingredients below (Arati starts listing them at 1:25) before starting the episode.

Toni Tipton-Martin's Salmon Croquettes

Serves 4 to 8

Ingredients 

• 1 (14.75-ounce) can pink salmon, or 1 pound cooked salmon
• 1/4 cup finely minced celery
• 1/2 cup finely minced onion
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 1/2 cups fine dried bread crumbs (preferably homemade) or cracker crumbs
• Flour, for your hands
• Oil, for pan-frying
• Tartar or Rémoulade sauce, for serving

1. In a medium bowl, break up the salmon. If using canned, mix with a fork until the bones and skin are well blended. Stir in the celery, onion, lemon juice, salt, black pepper, cayenne (if using), the eggs, and crumbs.
2. With a 1/4-cup measure and lightly floured hands, scoop the salmon mixture, then shape into 8 flat discs. (Or, for bite-size hors d’oeuvres, scoop 2 tablespoons of the mixture and shape into 16 discs.)
3. Pour 1/2 inch oil into a large skillet and heat to 350°F over medium-high heat. (Use a thermometer, or flick in a few bread crumbs; if they sizzle almost immediately but don’t burn, the oil is ready.) Adjust the heat to maintain this temperature.
4. Working in batches (do not crowd the pan), fry the croquettes until golden brown, turning over once, about 3 minutes per side (less if making them small). Using a fork and spatula will help make turning easier and prevent croquettes from breaking. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with sauce of your choice.

Lobby Time Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/