John Torode's hot smoked salmon with beetroot and horseradish cream
He’s swapped the This Morning kitchen for the snowy Highland hills! John Torode cooks up hot smoked Scottish salmon, and gets up and close personal with the local wildlife in his Winter Cottage series.
Hot smoked salmon with beetroot and horseradish cream
Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the beetroot
4 beetroot with leaves on, washed thoroughly
2 sprigs of thyme
4 cloves of garlic (cracked open)
20ml olive oil
Splash of water
For the maple dressing
40ml olive oil
10ml maple syrup
10ml malt vinegar
20ml lemon juice
Grated fresh ginger
For the herbed Scotch pancakes
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
350g self raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp granulated sugar
100g melted butter
200 ml buttermilk
400 ml milk
2 eggs
Small bunch of fresh mixed herbs (parsley, dill or tarragon), chopped
50 ml vegetable oil for greasing
For the salmon
250g Lapsang Souchong tea
300g green wood chips
1 large fillet of salmon, skin scored and bones removed
30g salt
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp soft brown sugar
½ tsp cracked black peppercorns
For the Horseradish cream
200ml crème fraîche
50grs fresh grated horseradish
10mls vinegar
Salt and pepper
Method
1. For the maple dressing add the ingredients into a bowl and whisk together
2. For the roasted beetroot, cut the leaves away, dry and then place them into some foil with chopped thyme and crushed garlic
3. Slice the beetroot into segments similar to a chocolate orange, and place into the parcel before adding a splash of olive oil and water
4. Scrunch the foil into a parcel and place into the oven at 180°c to cook for 50 minutes or until the beetroot is soft to the touch
5. Unwrap the parcel and discard the thyme and the garlic and toss the beetroot wedges in the maple dressing whilst hot
6. For the herbed Scotch pancakes: In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients together. Now add all the wet ingredients to the dry ones, adding the melted butter last and give it a good beating with a balloon whisk, before adding the chopped herbs.
7. The batter should be thick but smooth and silky. Leave it to sit for 10 minutes so the bicarb starts to work
8. Warm a frying pan over a medium heat, using a piece of kitchen towel or similar rub a little oil into the pan to grease it
9. Pour a ladle of mix into the center of the pan, bubbles will start to form in the batter, leave to cook for a minute or so before turning down the heat a little. When the edges are brown and the bubbles are popping (think the top of a crumpet) turn it over and cook for another minute.
10. For the salmon you will need a tabletop smoker or a barbecue with a tight fitting lid
11. Make a small fire out of very good quality wood and once it is burnt down to glowing coal, sprinkle over a mixture of loose Lapsang Souchong tea and green wood chips over the glowing coals.
12. Take a pestle and mortar and crush all the spice ingredients together, it shouldn’t be powdered just crushed
13. Rub the fish all over with the spice rub and place onto the rack inside the barbecue or smoker before closing the lid. You may need to seal the lid with a little foil so the smoke doesn’t escape.
14. Cook the salmon for 30 minutes before opening up. Leave the salmon to rest while you make the horseradish cream.
15. For the horseradish cream, grate the fresh horseradish into a bowl and then sprinkle with the vinegar and the salt and pepper. Leave to sit for 10 minutes and then mix with the crème fraiche.
To serve: Take a herbed pancake, top with the beetroot, flake over salmon and top with the horseradish cream.