serves
8
prep
1:30 hour
cook
1 hour
difficulty
Mid
serves
8
people
preparation
1:30
hour
cooking
1
hour
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
Carrot and cardamom-cured salmon
- 5 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 275 g (1 cup) table salt
- 220 g (1 cup) caster sugar
- 75 g (¾ cup) green cardamom pods, cracked open and toasted
- 1 side salmon, pin boned, skin and bloodline removed
Salt and vinegar jelly
- 250 ml (1 cup) sherry vinegar
- pinch of sea salt flakes
- 500 ml (2 cups) sugar syrup (see Note)
- 15 g agar agar powder
Beetroot mayo
- 250 g tennis ball-sized beetroots (or 300 g cooked)
- 300 g (1 cup) rock salt
- 1 egg
- 5 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 40 g Dijon mustard
- 50 ml lemon juice
- 300 ml vegetable oil
- 300 ml olive oil
Corn puree
- 1 corn cob, kernels removed, cob reserved
- 500 ml (2 cups) water
- 1 bay leaf, torn
- drizzle of olive oil
- ½ small brown onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 75 ml thickened cream
Pumpkin puree
- 250 g Japanese pumpkin, peeled and seeded
- 40 g unsalted butter
- 75 ml thickened cream
Pickled fennel
- 100 ml chardonnay vinegar
- 100 g brown sugar
- 4 small bulbs baby fennel, halved with 4-6 cm of stem left on
- splash of extra virgin olive oil
- pinch of sea salt flakes
Olive oil powder
- 25 ml olive oil
- 25 g Maltosec (see Note)
To serve
- samphire and fennel fronds
Chilling/freezing time 3-4 hours
Instructions
To make the cured salmon, using a high-powered food processor, puree the carrots, salt, sugar and cardamom until smooth. Place the salmon in a ceramic or glass dish, pour over the carrot mixture, turn to coat well, then refrigerate for 3-4 hours. Rinse the cure off the salmon, pat-dry, then cut into 1 cm-thick slices.
Meanwhile, to make the salt and vinegar jelly, place the vinegar, sugar syrup and agar agar in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring continuously for 5 minutes or until the mixture comes to a simmer. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve and pour into a lightly greased, flat dish so that it is about 2 cm-deep. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until set. Turn out the jelly onto a chopped board and cut into 2 cm cubes. Refrigerate until needed. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes just before serving.
To make the beetroot mayo, preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the beetroot on a rock salt lined baking tray and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until tender. When cool enough to handle, peel the beetroots, then puree the flesh until smooth. Cool. Place the egg and egg yolks, mustard and lemon juice in a food processor and combine well. With the motor running, gradually add the oil, drop by drop at first and then in a slow, steady stream until emulsified. Season to taste. Makes about 650 ml. Combine equal quantities of beetroot puree and mayonnaise and place in a squeeze bottle, then refrigerate until needed. Reserve the left over mayonnaise for another use.
To make the corn puree, place the stripped cobs, water and bay leaves in a saucepan and bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. In another saucepan, heat a drizzle of oil over low-medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and corn kernels and cook for 5 minutes or until soft and caramelised. While the corn is cooking, add the stock, little by little, until the corn is tender. Place the corn in a high-powered blender, add the cream and puree until smooth. Season to taste, then pass through a fine sieve. Place in a squeeze bottle and refrigerate until needed.
To make the pumpkin puree, grate the pumpkin using the largest holes of a cheese grater. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the pumpkin, cover and cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Transfer the mixture to a high-powered blender, add the cream and process until smooth. Season to taste, then pass through a fine sieve. Place in a squeeze bottle and refrigerate until needed.
To make the pickling liquid, place the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and cool. Cook the fennel halves in lightly salted boiling water for 1-2 minutes, then drain and refresh in iced water. Just before serving, toss in a little of the pickling liquid, then drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and season to taste. Allow to cool and keep refrigerated until needed.
To make the olive oil powder, combine both ingredients in a bowl and stir until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
To serve, place a slice of salmon on each plate, then place generous dots of each of the purees parallel to the salmon. Add a cube of jelly and halve a bulb of pickled fennel. Scatter with samphire and fennel fronds and finish with a spoonful of olive oil powder. Serve immediately.
Notes
• To make sugar syrup, combine equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and cool.
• Maltosec, also known as maltodextrin, is a powder derived from tapioca. It has the ability to absorb fats and convert them into a paste or powder. It is also used as a bulking agent and to stabilise high fat ingredients. Available from specialist food stores.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
