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I first invented this dish for a Scandinavian style Christmas experience we designed... back then the salmon was cured in aquavit, but here the dish gets a summer make over with fragrant gin cured salmon and a fresh apple and fennel remoulade.
Serves 4 - 6 as a starter
INGREDIENTS
300g salmon fillet, skin removed, pin-boned
1 cucumber
Peashoot tendrils & nasturtium leaves (optional)
1 lemon
Some very good olive oil
To serve: Sourdough bread or toast
For the salmon cure
100g fine sea salt
100g caster sugar
The zest of one orange, then the rest of the orange prepared into slices
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon juniper berries
80ml gin
For the remoulade
For the remoulade
1 granny smith apple, julienned
1 small fennel bulb, finely sliced
50g mayonnaise
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
The juice of half a lemon
A spoonful of finely chopped chives
Finely diced fresh tarragon leaves
Salt & pepper
OPTIONS!
With this dish you have options. Either cure the salmon for 24 hours, wash off the cure and serve thinly sliced. OR, cut the salmon into portions, cure the salmon for 2 hours, wash off the cure then pop in the oven for 8 minutes at 150C.
METHOD
24 hours in advance of the meal, cure the salmon (or two if cooking - see OPTIONS above)
Salmon. Mix all the cure ingredients together. Line a flat-ish Tupperware or small roasting dish with cling film (something that the fish will fit in snugly in a single later), then place half the cure mixture down. Add the salmon then layer the rest of the cure on top and pat down firmly. Cover tightly with clingfilm and place in the fridge.
After approximately 24 hours, remove the salmon from the cure and gently rinse under a cold tap, then pat dry. Slice into thin lengths, ready to serve.
For the rest of the dish:
Remoulade. Julienne the apple and finely slice the fennel. Mix the mayo, mustard, lemon juice and chives together and season with salt and pepper. Mix this with your prepared apple and fennel, massaging in into the ingredients to soften them a little.
Cucumber. Using a melon baller, scoop rounds of cucumber out of the vegetable, keeping the scoops as close together as possible so as not to waste too much (alternatively you can deseed the cucumber and cut into thumb size chunks). Heat a little oil in a frying pan and place the cucumber in cut side down. Allow the cucumber to char slightly but not cook too much before removing and cooling. This process can also be done with a chef’s blowtorch and brings a nice smokiness to the dish.
To plate the dish, place some remoulade onto each of your plates. Drape some ribbons of salmon around the remoulade and nestle pieces of cucumber in the curves. If using, garnish with peashoots and nasturtium petals, or you can use fonds of fennel or pieces of dill. Dress the plate lightly with a little lemon juice and very good olive oil. Serve with sourdough bread or toast.
ENJOY! GJ x