Gin and tonic-cured salmon

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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.

First published in 2015

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Salmon

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

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

To plate

Equipment

  • Mandoline
  • Blender
  • Piping bags
  • Large vacuum bags
  • Chamber sealer

Method

1
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
2
Preheat the oven to 175°C/gas mark 4
3
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
4
Leave to cool completely, then crumble into breadcrumbs then bake until crispy in a low oven
5
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
6
Generously coat the salmon with the cure and leave for 10 hours
  • 1kg side of salmon, trimmed
7
To compress the cucumber, slice along the cucumber into 0.5cm slices, discarding any pieces with seeds
8
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
9
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
10
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
11
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
12
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
First published in 2015

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

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