Tea-smoked salmon, poached eggs, spinach and yuzu hollandaise, English muffin

Not yet rated

Anna Hansen masterfully balances the bullish flavours of yuzu, jasmine and lemon in this tea-smoked salmon recipe. The yuzu and lemon come into play in a yuzu hollandaise - a beautiful twist on a classic sauce. If you don't own a specialist stove-top smoking box, use a large wok with a wire rack.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Cured salmon

To smoke the salmon

  • 75g of jasmine tea leaves
  • 75g of rice

Yuzu hollandaise

To serve

Equipment

  • Wok

Method

1
Begin by curing the salmon. Whisk together the sugar, salt and sesame oil and use to liberally coat the salmon. Leave for approximately 2 hours, then wipe off the curing mix
2
To smoke the salmon, mix together the rice and tea leaves and place in a smoke box or large wok lined with foil. Place over a high heat and allow the tea and rice to start smoking heavily
  • 75g of jasmine tea leaves
  • 75g of rice
3
Place the cured salmon fillet, skin-side down, on a rack, or on the second level of a tiered steamer. Place the hot smoke box at the base of the steamer, or if using a wok, place the fish on a rack above the smoking rice/tea mixture
4
Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and smoke for 8-10 minutes. Use a strong extractor fan with the windows open, or, if possible, take the process outside to avoid polluting your kitchen with smoke fumes
5
Once the salmon is ready, it should look medium pink/brown and still slightly raw in the centre. Remove the salmon and allow to cool. Leave at room temperature if serving straight-away, or store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days
6
For the yuzu hollandaise, whisk together the egg yolks, yuzu juice and lemon juice in a bowl. Place over a saucepan of gently simmering water and whisk continuously until the mixture begins to reach a thick ribbon stage
7
Place a separate saucepan over a medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter begins to foam, remove the thickened egg mix from the heat and slowly pour in the melted butter, whisking continuously until emulsified. Season to taste, cover with a cartouche and store in a warm place until required
8
For the spinach, melt the butter in a hot pan and once foaming, add the baby spinach. Wilt gently until just cooked, season to taste and keep warm
9
Before serving, poach the eggs and toast the muffins
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 English muffins
10
Flake the salmon onto the muffins with a little spinach. Top with the poached eggs and spoon over the hollandaise. Serve immediately

Whether you call it 'fusion', 'global' or 'basically indescribable' is beside the point; Anna Hansen's food is without a doubt fresh and adventurous - you might even call it modern.

Get in touch

Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.