
Cured salmon with prawns, pickled salad & dill lime crème fraîche
Make this cured salmon and prawn dish as a classy starter for a dinner party. It takes a few days of prep, but it’s well worth it for the flavour that you get
- 550g salmon filletskin on
- 2 sticks lemongrassroughly chopped
- 125g caster or granulated sugarplus 2 tsp and another 2 tbsp
- 150g coarse sea salt
- 2 limeszested, 1 juiced
- 5 tbsp Japanese rice vinegarplus a dash
- 2 garlic clovescrushed
- small bunch coriander(half of 28g pack)
- 20g pack dill
- 2 fresh red Thai chilliessliced (deseeded if you don’t like it too hot)
- 140g baby turnipsskin on
- 1 small red onionpeeled
- 6 tbsp full-fat crème fraîche
- 12 large cooked peeled prawns
Nutrition: Per serving (6)
- kcal410
- fat30g
- saturates13g
- carbs13g
- sugars13g
- fibre1g
- protein21g
- salt2.7g
Method
step 1
Check the fish for bones and, if needed, remove with tweezers. To make the cure, put the lemongrass, 125g sugar, the salt, lime juice, zest of 1 lime, 1 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 garlic clove, the coriander and half of the dill, including stems, into a food processor. Blitz until the lemongrass is finely chopped, then stir in a quarter of the sliced chillies.
step 2
Cross two large pieces of cling film in a roasting tin and spoon on a third of the cure, then top with the fish. Cover the fish with the rest of the cure. Wrap tightly and leave for 36-48 hrs, then scrape off the cure, rinse the fish in cold water and pat dry. The fillet will feel firm.
step 3
On the day of serving, start the other elements of the recipe. Shave the turnips into very thin slices using a mandoline, then plunge them into iced water with a dash of the vinegar. Leave for an hour, then drain well. Thinly slice the onion and mix with the turnip slices, 2 tbsp vinegar, 2 tsp sugar and a pinch of salt. Cover and steep for at least 1 hr, or chill for a few hrs.
step 4
Finely chop the remaining dill leaves and stir most of them into the crème fraîche with the remaining lime zest and a little seasoning, then chill.
step 5
For the dressing, stir together the remaining 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp vinegar, another quarter of the sliced chillies and the crushed garlic and leave until the sugar dissolves.
step 6
Slice the fish into approx 20 slices, taking the knife down to the skin, then easing the blade underneath each piece to remove it.
step 7
When ready to serve, spoon and swoosh the dill crème fraîche down the middle of each plate, then top with overlapping salmon slices. Add 3 prawns per serving. Lift the salad from its juices and mound to one side. Scatter with a little extra dill and the remaining sliced chillies, then drizzle the dressing over the fish and prawns (or let your guests do that bit at the table).