Beetroot, Blood Orange and Gin-cured Salmon with Fennel & Dill Pickle
This is a really fabulous first course for when you want to get a head start, as you have to prepare it a couple of days beforehand to allow it to cure.
Servings
4
Ingredients
- FOR THE SALMON:
- 300g salmon side fillet
- 100g peeled raw beetroot, grated
- 30g granulated sugar
- 20g sea salt
- 1 tbsp finely chopped dill
- grated zest and juice of 1 small blood orange
- 2 tbsp gin
- FOR THE FENNEL & DILL PICKLE:
- 1 fennel bulb
- 80g granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp finely chopped dill
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 250ml cider vinegar
- 1 blood orange, sliced, to decorate (optional)
Method
- Start by preparing the salmon, as you will need to let this cure for a couple of days. Place the salmon, skin-side down, in a dish that’s deep enough for it to be submerged in the cure – I find a baking or pie dish is perfect.
- Add all the remaining ingredients for the salmon to a bowl and mix together well. Spoon over the salmon so that the salmon is submerged in the cure. Cover the dish loosely with two sheets of clingfilm and sit a heavy weight on top – I use cans of tomatoes or similar canned items. Place in the fridge and leave for two days.
- Next make the fennel and dill pickle. Cut the fennel bulb in half down the centre and thinly slice into semicircles. Add to a non-reactive bowl, sprinkle over the sugar, dill and salt and pour the vinegar on top. Cover the bowl with clingfilm and leave to stand at room temperature for about an hour. Give the pickle a good stir and then leave to stand for a further hour.
- Once the salmon has cured for two days, remove from the fridge, scrape off all the cure mixture and pat the salmon dry with kitchen paper.
- To serve, thinly slice the salmon away from the skin underneath and arrange on a serving plate with slices of blood orange, if you wish, and the fennel and dill pickle in a bowl alongside.
Clodagh’s Suppers: Suppers to celebrate the seasons by Clodagh McKenna is published by Kyle Books, £20.00, www.kylebooks.co.uk
