Cured salmon with tomato, caper and chilli vinaigrette
This is very easy celebration dish for perfect entertaining at any time, a dinner party or major festive occasion like Christmas or Easter. You can vary the spiciness by using either our mild or hot chillies in the vinaigrette
Cooking Time: 1 minute. Preparation Time 20 minutes Makes: 8 serves
Ingredients
Cured Salmon
- 1 side of salmon skin on
- 1 cup sea salt crystals
- 2/3 cup caster sugar
- 1 cup chopped dill
- 2 tbsps freshly ground mixed pepper corns (black, white and pink)
Vinaigrette
- 2 large very ripe tomatoes
- 1 tbsps Always Fresh capers roughly chopped
- 8 mixed Always fresh chillies (Hot or mild depending on your taste) sliced
- 1 medium garlic clove crushed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoons of lemon juice
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To Serve
- extra Always Fresh chillies
- a few Always Fresh capers
- dill fronds
Method
- Place the salmon on a non reactive dish or shallow tray (glass, plastic or enamel) run your clean fingers over the salmon flesh and remove any remaining pin bones.
- Coat generously on both sides with the chopped dill.
- Mix the sugar, salt and pepper and thoroughly coat the salmon laying it skin side down on the tray. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Before serving, make the tomato caper-chilli vinaigrette. Skin the tomatoes by dropping them first in boiling water for 1 minute (until the skin splits) then into cold water, the skins will easily slip off as soon as they are cool enough to handle.
- Remove the tomato core and dice very finely.
- Scrape the diced tomato and as much of the juice as possible into a medium bowl.
- Add the capers, chillies, lemon juice and olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Depending on how acidic the tomatoes are, add more or less lemon juice (you want a tomato based, tangy, spicy blend) cover with cling film and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Remove the salmon from curing mixture and wipe in down to remove the salt and sugar and most of the chopped dill.
- Transfer it to a large serving plate skin side down and using a very sharp knife carve a few thin slices of fish off the skin, garnish with a scattering of extra chopped chillies and capers a few fronds of dill. Serve drizzled with the vinaigrette with very finely sliced rye bread and a shaved fennel, orange and Kalamata olive salad.
Tip: The vinaigrette can be made and refrigerated for up to 4 hours before serving making this dish perfect for entertaining large numbers
