Tartare of Smoked Salmon

This is a pretty, simple dish that can be made hours ahead of time and benefits from sitting in the fridge chilling. It is great as a light lunch with a salad and some crusty bread, or as a starter. You might need to reduce the portion size slightly when making this dish as a starter as it can be quite filling.

It is very important to continually taste this mixture as you are making it as it can easily become too rich. This dish can also be made with ham in place of the salmon and chives instead of the dill if you have someone who doesn’t like fish. Please do use the best quality mayonnaise you can find when making this dish, as a mayonnaise that is too vinegary will make the dish too sharp.

Ingredients:

Serves 6-8350g smoked salmon1 small red pepper1 small yellow pepper4 small shallots2tsp chopped dill3tsp good quality full fat or home-made mayonnaiseLemon juice, salt and pepper

Garnish80g cucumber1 tomatoDill

1 Very finely dice the salmon, peppers, shallots and dill and put into a bowl. Season the chopped ingredients and mix in the mayonnaise.

2 Taste the mixture and add lemon juice to taste, and more seasoning if needed. Place the mixture into small metal rings or clingfilm lined ramekins and chill in the fridge until you are ready to serve.

3 To make the garnish, peel and then slice the cucumber in half lengthways. Remove the seeds with a spoon and slice width ways to make moon shapes, and keep to one side. Deseed then dice the tomato and mix with a little olive oil and seasoning.

4 When you are ready to serve the dish, place the cucumber in a circle in the middle of the plate. Press out the tartare mixture on top of the cucumber and place the diced tomato around the sides of the tartare. Place a sprig of dill on top and serve with some lemon segments.