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Cucumber and yoghurt sorbet with citrus-cured salmon, charred cucumber and pickled cucumber
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Russell Bateman's salmon starter recipe ensures cucumber is the star of the dish, with thick cut cured salmon the perfect foil for the refreshing sorbet, sweet pickle and charred slices of cucumber. The salmon, sorbet and pickle will need to be prepared at least a day before so ensure you start in plenty of time. If you don't have a chamber vacuum to compress the charred cucumber you could just infuse the slices in vinegar for a few hours instead.
First published in 2016
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Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Cured salmon
- 1 side of fresh salmon, skinned
- 500g of sugar
- 250g of salt
- 250g of rock salt
- 1 tbsp of fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp of coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp of white peppercorns
- 1 bunch of dill
- 3 lemons, zest and juice
- 2 oranges, zest and juice
Cucumber and yoghurt sorbet
- 3 cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped
- 500g of Greek yoghurt
- 50g of lemon juice
- 75g of ProCrema
- 50g of liquid glucose
- 150g of water
- 6g of salt
To serve
- 1 lemon, zest only
- fronds of fresh dill, or micro herbs
- edible flowers
- rapeseed oil
SAVE RECIPE
Equipment
- Blender
- Muslin cloth
- Food processor
- Blowtorch
- Ice cream maker
- Parisian scoop / melon baller
- Chamber sealer
Method
1
To cure the salmon, place the sugar, salts, spices, dill and citrus zests and juice in a blender and blitz until fully incorporated
- 500g of sugar
- 250g of salt
- 250g of rock salt
- 1 tbsp of fennel seeds
- 1 tbsp of coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp of white peppercorns
- 1 bunch of dill
- 3 lemons, zest and juice
- 2 oranges, zest and juice
2
Pour half the curing mixture into a non-porous tray and place the salmon on top. Cover with the remainder of the cure and gently massage into the fish, then cover the tray with cling film and place in the fridge for 8 hours
- 1 side of fresh salmon, skinned
3
After this time, remove the salmon from the tray and stir the curing mixture thoroughly to loosen. Place the salmon upside down into the tray and spoon the curing mixture over the fish. Cover the tray with cling film and leave to cure for another 8 hours
4
Turn and baste the fish again and place in the fridge for a further 8 hours. Repeat this process once more, turning and basting the fish in between resting until the fish has been curing for 32 hours
5
While the fish is curing, prepare the cucumbers for the sorbet. Place the cucumbers in a blender and blitzing to form a rough purée. Pour into a fine sieve placed over a large bowl and press down with a spoon to help get all the liquid out, then leave to strain over the bowl for 30 minutes
- 3 cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped
6
Meanwhile, prepare the pickled cucumber. Place the water, vinegar, sugar and salt in a pan and place over a high heat. Bring up to the boil, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly
- 300g of water
- 200g of white wine vinegar
- 100g of sugar
- 3g of salt
7
Halve and deseed the cucumber and use a melon baller to scoop small rounds from the flesh. Place the cucumber balls in the warm pickling liquor and leave to marinate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight
- 1 cucumber
8
After the cucumber purée has drained discard the pulp left in the sieve and weigh out 500g of the juice. Pour into a clean blender along with the yoghurt, lemon juice and ProCrema and set aside
- 500g of Greek yoghurt
- 50g of lemon juice
- 75g of ProCrema
9
Combine the liquid glucose, water and salt in a small pan over a high heat and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat and pour into the blender with the cucumber mixture, blitzing for 1 minute until smooth and thoroughly combined. Transfer to a bowl and leave to rest overnight in the fridge
- 50g of liquid glucose
- 150g of water
- 6g of salt
10
After the salmon has finished curing, wash the fish under cold water to rinse off the cure. Carefully pat dry, then cut into 0.5cm thick slices and reserve in the fridge until ready to serve
11
For the charred cucumber, place 1 of the cucumbers in a blender and blitz to form a rough purée. Pour into a fine sieve placed over a bowl and leave to strain for 10 minutes. Discard the pulp, mix the vinegar into the juice and set aside
- 1 cucumber
- 50g of white wine vinegar
12
Take the second cucumber and use a blowtorch to completely scorch and blacken the skin – there should be no green skin visible at all. Wrap in cling film while still warm, trapping the residual heat from the skin and allowing it to penetrate the cucumber as it cools
- 1 cucumber
13
Once completely cool, unwrap the charred cucumber and cut into slices. Arrange the slices in a single layer across a deep tray and pour over the reserved cucumber juice and vinegar mixture. Place the tray in a chamber sealer and compress on full vacuum, then remove the slices from the liquid, season with salt and reserve in the fridge until ready to serve
14
Once the sorbet mixture has chilled overnight, remove from the fridge and pour into an ice cream maker. Churn according to the manufacturer's instructions until the mixture forms a smooth sorbet
15
When ready to serve, drain the pickled cucumber balls from the liquor and divide between serving plates. Top with the slices of cured salmon, slices of charred cucumber and a quenelle of cucumber sorbet. Drizzle over a little rapeseed oil and garnish with dill fronds, edible flowers and grated lemon zest
- rapeseed oil
- 1 lemon, zest only
- fronds of fresh dill, or micro herbs
- edible flowers
First published in 2016
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