Cured salmon with pickled cucumber salad, apple gel, purslane and horseradish mousse
- Starter
- Medium
- 15–20
- 1 hour 15 minutes, plus 3 hours curing time and overnight infusing time
PT1H15M
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This impressive salmon starter recipe is an excellent dish to make when you're feeding a big crowd – a whole side will provide a good 15–20 portions. The cured fish is served with pickled cucumber, apple gel and a horseradish cream, all of which can be made in advance so all you have to do is plate up on the day. Leftover salmon can be frozen.
Ingredients
Salmon
- 1 side of salmon, skinned and pin-boned
- 200g of coarse sea salt
- 50g of caster sugar
- 2g of coriander seeds , toasted
- 1/2 tbsp of thyme leaves
- 2 star anise , broken into petals
- 1/2 lime , zested
- 1/2 lemon , zested
- 1/2 orange , zested
- 225g of beetroot , grated
Horseradish cream
- 200g of creamed horseradish
- 100g of fresh horseradish
- 1 cucumber
- 2 green apples
- 125g of chives , roughly chopped
- 100g of Dijon mustard
- 1l whipping cream
Pickled cucumber salad
- 300ml of water
- 200ml of white wine vinegar
- 100g of Demerara sugar
- 2 cucumbers , peeled and cut into 1cm dice
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp honey
- 80g of capers
- 5g of dill , finely chopped
- 2 Granny Smith apples , peeled and cut into 1cm dice and kept in lemon water
- 2 banana shallots , brunoised
- Chardonnay vinegar to taste
- extra virgin olive oil to taste
Apple gel
- 500ml of apple juice , freshly squeezed
- 50g of caster sugar
- 7g of agar agar
To serve
- 20g of sea purslane
- bronze fennel
- 1 nori sheet , blitzed into a powder
- 100g of trout roe
Equipment
- Blender
- Electric hand whisk
Method
Begin preparing the salmon a day in advance. Mix together all the ingredients (apart from the salmon), ensuring they are well combined by rubbing the mixture between your hands
- 200g of coarse sea salt
- 50g of caster sugar
- 2g of coriander seeds , toasted
- 1/2 tbsp of thyme leaves
- 2 star anise , broken into petals
- 1/2 lime , zested
- 1/2 lemon , zested
- 1/2 orange , zested
- 225g of beetroot , grated
Sprinkle half the mixture onto a tray large enough to hold the salmon. Lay the fish on top, then add the remaining curing mixture on top, ensuring it is thoroughly coated. Tightly wrap the tray in cling film, then set aside at room temperature for 90 minutes
- 1 side of salmon, skinned and pin-boned
While you wait, begin preparing the horseradish cream. Grate the fresh horseradish, cucumber and apples into a bowl, then add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and leave to infuse in the fridge overnight
- 100g of fresh horseradish
- 2 green apples
- 1 cucumber
- 1l whipping cream
- 100g of Dijon mustard
- 125g of chives , roughly chopped
- 200g of creamed horseradish
You can also make the apple gel the day before. Warm the apple juice in a pan and mix together the agar agar and sugar. Whisk the agar mixture into the warm apple juice, then bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Allow to cool, then blitz in a blender to make a fluid gel. Transfer to a squeezy bottle and reserve in the fridge
- 500ml of apple juice , freshly squeezed
- 50g of caster sugar
- 7g of agar agar
After 90 minutes, flip the fish over, working the now wet mixture into the fish, then cover in cling film again and leave for another 90 minutes
Quickly but thoroughly rinse the curing mixture off the fish, then pat dry and leave in the fridge uncovered overnight to dry out and set firm
The next day, make the salad. Bring the water, sugar and vinegar to the boil, then set aside to cool slightly. Meanwhile, sprinkle the diced cucumber with salt and leave to drain in a colander for 15 minutes
- 300ml of water
- 200ml of white wine vinegar
- 100g of Demerara sugar
- 2 cucumbers , peeled and cut into 1cm dice
When the pickle liquor has cooled slightly (but is still warm), add the mustard seeds and leave for 10 minutes. After this time, add the cucumber to the liquor and bring back to the boil. As soon as it is boiling, remove from the heat, add the honey and capers, then leave to cool completely
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp honey
- 80g of capers
While you wait, strain the horseradish cream mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl. Use an electric whisk to whisk the cream to soft peaks, then season to taste. Transfer to a piping bag
Once the pickled cucumber has cooled, strain off the liquor and mix the cucumber with the diced apple, dill and shallots. Dress to taste with the Chardonnay vinegar and olive oil, then set aside
- 5g of dill , finely chopped
- 2 Granny Smith apples , peeled and cut into 1cm dice and kept in lemon water
- 2 banana shallots , brunoised
- Chardonnay vinegar to taste
- extra virgin olive oil to taste
When ready to serve, slice the cured salmon into thick strips on a 45-degree angle. You should get 15-20 slices
To serve, place a slice of salmon to the left of each serving plate. Spoon over some trout roe and add a few fronds of dill. Squeeze a large dot of apple gel next to it and dust it with the blitzed nori powder. Add a small pile of the cucumber salad, then garnish it with purslane leaves. Finally, pipe a dot of the horseradish cream and garnish with a sprig of bronze fennel
- 20g of sea purslane
- bronze fennel
- 1 nori sheet , blitzed into a powder
- 100g of trout roe
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Cured salmon with pickled cucumber salad, apple gel, purslane and horseradish mousse
