Gin and Tonic-Cured Salmon Recipe

Paul Welburn's fresh vibrant salmon starter is complemented by the unusual addition of the flavours of gin and tonic. Pickled lemons can be made in big batches and used in other seafood dishes, they will keep for up to three months in the vacuum bag.

Ingredients

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Imperial

Salmon

1kg side of salmon, trimmed
30 coriander seeds
20 juniper berries
20 black peppercorns
2 lemons, zested
2 limes, zested
1 bunch of dill
375g of flaky sea salt
100g of sugar
50ml of gin

Soda bread

600g of wholemeal flour
350g of jumbo rolled oats
25g of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
375g of black treacle
600ml of buttermilk

Pickled lemons

165ml of water
125ml of Chardonnay vinegar
55g of caster sugar
2 lemons

Compressed cucumber

1 cucumber, peeled
1 pinch of salt
25ml of olive oil

Tonic gel

225ml of tonic water
50ml of water
100g of pickled lemon, plus 100ml of the pickling liquor
4g of gellan gum type F
6g of sugar
1g of salt

Dill mayonnaise

1/2 bunch of dill
250ml of grapeseed oil
30g of egg yolk
20ml of white wine vinegar
5g of Dijon mustard
salt

To plate

dill, sprigs

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Mandoline
Blender
Piping bags
Large vacuum bags
Chamber sealer

To make the pickled lemons, slice the lemons finely on a meat slicer or mandoline. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar, mix in the water and transfer the lemons and liquid to a vacuum bag and leave to pickle for 24 hours

2 lemons
55g of caster sugar
125ml of Chardonnay vinegar
165ml of water

Preheat the oven to 175°C/gas mark 4

For the soda bread, mix all of the ingredients except the buttermilk in a mixer until just incorporated, it will be quite wet. Add the buttermilk and mix well. Transfer to a shallow tin and bake for 35–40 minutes

600g of wholemeal flour
350g of jumbo rolled oats
25g of salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
375g of black treacle
600ml of buttermilk

Leave to cool completely, then crumble into breadcrumbs then bake until crispy in a low oven

For the salmon, toast the spices and crush. Blitz the zest, spices, dill and 100g of the flaky sea salt to a coarse consistency in a food processor and transfer to a bowl. Fold through the remaining salt, sugar and gin

20 black peppercorns
30 coriander seeds
20 juniper berries
2 limes, zested
2 lemons, zested
1 bunch of dill
375g of flaky sea salt
50ml of gin
100g of sugar

Generously coat the salmon with the cure and leave for 10 hours

1kg side of salmon, trimmed

To compress the cucumber, slice along the cucumber into 0.5cm slices, discarding any pieces with seeds

1 cucumber, peeled

Transfer to a vacuum bag with the olive oil and salt and seal. Reserve in the fridge for 2–3 hours before dicing into cubes

1 pinch of salt
25ml of olive oil

To make the tonic gel, blend the tonic water with the 100g of pickled lemon, 100ml of pickling liquor from the pickled lemons and the water until smooth and pass through a fine sieve. Heat the puree to 85°C and add the gellan, sugar and salt. Blend with a hand blender and transfer to a tray to set in the fridge. Once set blend the gel to a purée consistency and transfer to a piping bag

225ml of tonic water
50ml of water

To make the dill mayonnaise, blitz the dill with the oil until smooth then hang through muslin. Whisk together the egg yolk, vinegar and mustard and slowly drizzle in the dill oil until emulsified. Season to taste

250ml of grapeseed oil
30g of egg yolk
20ml of white wine vinegar
5g of Dijon mustard
salt
1/2 bunch of dill

When ready to serve, rinse the salmon well and dry on kitchen paper. Cut into a 1cm dice, discarding some of the edges if they are too salty

To plate, arrange the salmon pieces in a ring with the cucumber dice and pipe dots of the dill mayonnaise and tonic gel on top. Sprinkle with soda breadcrumbs and garnish with dill sprigs

dill, sprigs

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Paul Welburn

Paul Welburn has years of Michelin-star cooking behind him, holding a star for five years at restaurant W1.

Gin and tonic-cured salmon

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