The Great British Bake Off's Mary Berry's Cold poached salmon with avocado and pickled ginger

An unusual but truly delicious cold summer lunch.

Wasabi is a Japanese paste, similar to horseradish but with an Oriental kick. Pickled ginger comes in a jar of fine pink slices of ginger – do not confuse it with crystallised ginger! We prefer this long, slow method of cooking the salmon to fast roasting; it keeps the salmon moist and succulent.

Serves 6

6 x 150g (5½ oz) middle cut salmon fillets, skin on • 6 slices smoked salmon • 12 slices pickled ginger • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds • a little melted butter

Avocado topping2 medium ripe avocados, roughly chopped • 1 tsp wasabi paste • juice of ½ lemon • 4 tbsp full-fat crème fraîche

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 140°C/Fan 120°C/Gas 2 and arrange a piece of foil over a baking tray, double the length but positioned in the middle.2 Brush it with melted butter and season with salt and pepper.3 Place the salmon fillets, skin-side up on the foil. Fold the foil over and seal around the edges so the salmon are enclosed. Slide into the preheated oven and bake for about 45 minutes until the salmon is just cooked through and is a matt pink with no liquid oozing out – keep checking. Set aside to cool and peel off the skin.4 Tip the avocados into a processor, add the wasabi, lemon juice and crème fraîche, season with salt and pepper and whiz until smooth.5 Divide the mixture into six and spread over the cold salmon fillets in a neat, even layer. Swirl one piece of smoked salmon in the centre of each fillet and place a slice of ginger on either side. Sprinkle a few sesame seeds over the smoked salmon and serve with baby new potatoes and mangetout or a green salad.

To prepare aheadThe salmon fillets can be cooked up to a day ahead. The toppings can be arranged up to 6 hours ahead and kept covered in the fridge. Not suitable for freezing.To cook in the AgaCook the salmon in the foil tent in the simmering oven of the Aga for about 45 minutes until cooked through.