Home cured salmon with beetroot

beetroot home cured salmon with rye bread, cream cheese and dill

Sometimes I get an idea in my head, it sticks and no matter what I do, it is hard to shake it out of there. These ideas are almost entirely about food; my brain is a fatty. This recipe is one such example, I’ve been waiting months for the beetroot to appear again on the market stalls. Despite the long wait it didn’t disappoint.  The report card would say, “exceeds expectations”.

salmon with beetroot and vodka (russian porn)

Being shallow, this is an incredibly pretty little dish; deeply pink tinged fringes of the salmon, cut so thin it is almost translucent. The taste was also pretty special; slick, fatty salmon with a hint of umami from the curing liquor. Yummy (even if I do say so myself).

side of salmon with some of the beetroot curing liquor

I served it with rye bread, cream cheese, a smattering of dill fronds and a squeeze of lemon. It was a wonderful simple lunch.

Home cured salmon with beetroot

A side of sashimi grade salmon 500 – 600g

75g sea salt

75g caster sugar

200g grated beetroot

6dsp vodka

Ensure the salmon is clean and remove any remaining bones with tweezers.

Mix all the ingredients, except the salmon, together.

Put half of the beetroot mixture into a glass or ceramic container big enough for the fish.

Add the fish flesh side up and add the remaining beetroot mixture on top.

Cover with cling film and pop in the fridge.

After 24 hours turn the salmon over and cover with the mixture.

Leave the salmon for another 24 – 48 hours.

When you are ready to eat, remove the salmon and rinse it under cold running water briefly just to remove some of the salt.

Pat dry with kitchen towel.

Cut on a diagonal and serve.

Enjoy.

Raspberry sorbet with vodka and lime (foraging trip part 2)

Our foraging trip last weekend was just so nice. It was just great being away from the city for a few hours. I am always amazed by the marvellous goodies we find when we start looking out a bit more. It makes me think about how much we miss day to day, zoned out in our own little worlds.  We came across crab apples, watercress, wild cherries, pineapple camomile, orange birch bolete, sweet cicely, rosehips, hawthorn and wild strawberries. Our main bounty, however, was lots of ruby red wild raspberries. These are smaller and slightly more tart and intense than commercially grown raspberries which of course you could use in this recipe instead.  “Glen ample” is a wonderful raspberry variety – large and plump with a pleasant acidity. It is widely available in different supermarkets.

This recipe makes an intense sorbet which really is very quick and painless to make, taking about 20 minutes from beginning to eating. I served it in a little glass with a wee hit of vodka and some lime zest. This recipe works on proportions, 4 parts fruit to 1 part sugar, so whatever quantity of fruit you find/buy you can enjoy it in sorbet form.

Raspberry sorbet

600g raspberries

150g icing sugar

to serve – vodka

lime zest

Mash the raspberries through a sieve with a bowl underneath to catch the puree.

Discard the pips (unless you are more inventive than me and have a great use for them).

Add the icing sugar to the raspberry puree and mix.

Have a taste, you may wish to add more sugar.

Pour into an ice cream maker.

Leave to churn until the required consistency is achieved.

Enjoy.

(Note to the sister-in-law-to be, check out the glass, recognise it?)