Matthew Tomkinson's pairs home-smoked salmon with an English wasabi gazpacho in this cold-smoked salmon recipe - great to have on hand for brunches, rillettes, terrine, sandwiches, bagels or other favourites.
To cure the salmon for smoking, add the sea salts and sugar to a bowl and mix well. Spread 1/3 of the cure mix out in a suitably-sized tray and place the salmon on top. Cover the salmon with the remaining mix and leave to cure for 48 hours
Once ready to smoke, wash the salt mix off the salmon and pat dry. Place in the cold-smoker for 8 hours, then leave uncovered in the fridge overnight. Once required, use a very sharp knife to thinly slice the salmon
3
For the pickled cucumber, bring the vinegar, water and sugar to the boil, then leave to cool. Using a peeler, peel long wide strips using the full length of the cucumber (like fettuccine) and drop into the cooled pickle. Leave to stand
Add all of the wasabi gazpacho ingredients, except the mascarpone, to a blender and blitz until very smooth. Mix in the cheese, push through a fine sieve and chill the mix until very cold
1 tbsp of fresh wasabi, English, grated, plus extra to taste
In chilled soup bowls, place curled up slices of the salmon along with rolled up cucumber strips. Add a few blobs of the crème fraîche and top with the caviar
Matthew Tomkinson’s elegant and highly accomplished food earned him a Roux Scholarship in 2005, as well as Michelin stars at The Goose and The Montagu Arms. He now cooks classically influenced comforting dishes at Betony at The Kings Head in Wiltshire.