Saturday, February 15

Wye Valley Smoked Salmon, Dill, Capers, Lemon & Crème Fraîche

You don't see smoked salmon on menus that much anymore. Sure it appears in bagels with cream cheese and alongside eggs as a affordably luxurious brunch, but not really as a stand alone dish. I guess it is seen as a bit 80's, a bit passé, a little naff in todays climate of molecular gastronomy and Nordic foraged bleeding edge cuisine. 

Well I'm nearly forty and my days of following fashion have long gone…..and like a comfortable pair of corduroy trousers, I'm quite partial to a bit of smoked salmon. Invest in a well made product, not the supermarket mass produced crap. Severn & Wye Smokery (www.severnandwye.co.uk) produce the some of the best I have tasted. Treated here with simplicity alongside some good bread, fresh from the oven……great tasting plates of food never go out of fashion. Serves 2 as a starter or light lunch.

Ingredients:
Good smoked salmon - 200g
Dill - 1 small bunch, leaves separated from stems
Unwaxed Lemon - 1, zested
Quality Crème Fraîche - 1 small pot
A little of your best extra virgin to drizzle
Capers - try and get the small 'lilliput' ones
Some fresh brown bread and butter

Method:
Not really much to say here, I'm sure you can look at the photo and repeat. I piped the crème fraîche using a piping bag - give it a little whisk to loosen beforehand - but a few spoonfuls artfully drizzled would taste just the same.

No comments: