Ingredients
- 2 large cooked beetroot, quartered
- 2 good handfuls fresh dill, chopped
- 6 tablespoons sea salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 140g caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon runny honey
- 1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
- 2 x 200g salmon fillets
To Serve
- Swedish crisp bread
- Watercress sprigs
- Fresh dill sprigs
Cucumber pickle
- 2 tablespoons caster sugar
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 small shallot, very thinly sliced
- 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
Dill creme fraiche
- 200g creme fraiche
- good handful fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1/2 lemon – juice only
- freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Blend beetroot to smooth paste in food processor. Tip into bowl, add dill, sea salt, pepper, sugar, honey and mustard and mix well.
- Lay out large piece of cling film, sprinkle with 1/3 of beetroot. Place one pice of salmon skin side down. Top with half the remaining beetroot then place second salmon flesh side down. Sprinkle remaining beetroot – wrap tightly with cling film.
- Put parcel in high-sided dish, weigh down with a plate and some full tins of food. Leave to cure in fridge for 5 days, turning halfway through.
- Make cucumber pickle the day before serving. put sugar and vinegar in bowl – stir until sugar dissolves. Mix in salt and shallots, then the cucumber. over with cling film and chill in fridge for 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- For the dill creme fraiche, put the creme fraiche, dill, lemon juice and black pepper in a bowl and mix well. Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for 2 hours, ideally overnight.
- When you are ready to serve, unwrap the salmon and wipe it clean. Separate the sides and slice thinly using a large, sharp knife. Put the swedish crisp bread on a serving plate and top with the slices of salmon and dollops of the dill creme fraiche and a small amount of the cucumber pickle.
- Garnish with watercress and fresh dill and serve.
