Christmas approaches once again, and with it come dreams of golden, crispy turkey skin, crunchy roast potatoes, pigs in blankets and flaming Christmas puddings. These are the usual food tropes of Christmas (and we love them dearly), but spare a thought for the calm before the storm – the magnificent side of cured salmon that accompanies your Christmas breakfast or your pre-meal canapés.
Shop-bought cured or smoked salmon isn’t bad by any means, but have you ever tried curing your own? The idea of curing your own fish sounds pretty daunting, we know, but it’s actually a very straight-forward process, and easily achievable as part of your Christmas food prep. And most importantly, the results are absolutely stunning – a world away from the equivalent you’d buy in the shops.
Have we convinced you to give it a go? We'e rounded up six stunning cured salmon recipes from renowned chefs like Nathan Outlaw, Andy McLeish and Pascal Aussignac, all of which are guaranteed to delight your dinner guests. Once your salmon is cured, you can use it however you like. Make it part of an elaborate starter, serve it with scrambled or poached eggs, or just slice it thinly and drape it over a cracker with a squeeze of lemon and a touch of black pepper.