A few weeks ago we hosted dinner for my dad's 59th birthday the menu consisted of this:
The hero of the meal (for me) was the Beetroot Cured Salmon.
It was delicate, beautiful, pretty and light.
Just perfection on a warm night.
Ahhahahahahaha that rhymes haahahahahaha
Hamish designed the recipe a few weeks before for a friend and thought it would translate well for a dinner party.
I think this would be great for a New Years Eve dinner party it looks so festive on the plate.
Salmon, baby vegetables, a paint stroke and Kim Chi - you can't be more "now" than that.
Kim Chi is very ooh la la with the food world at the moment, the recipe is at the bottom and can be used for a plethora of other dishes.
What are your new years plans?
How did your Christmas go?
Semi Cured Beetroot Atlantic Salmon
80g salt80g grated fresh ginger
80g grated fresh beetroot
160g salt
60ml stones ginger wine
1 bunch chopped corriander roots/stems
mix all together in a bowl until it becomes a liquid
clean fish into approx 200g portions
place fish into liquid and completely submerse
leave in fridge for 4 hours
remove from cure and rinse
dry with paper towel, slice and serve chilled
can keep for approx 2 days in fridge if fish is fresh, wrap in glad wrap tightly if you are going to do this.
For The Paint
After the fish has cured, strain the curing mix and mix some of the liquid with sweet white miso until desired consitancy and colour.
Paint onto plate with a clean paintbrush.
Asparagus
clean and place into boiling water for 1.5 mins, remove and place into icewater immediately
to serve quickly pan fry with sesame oil, salt and pepper - just to warm through
Enoki Mushroom
raw
Baby Beet
cleaned, peeled and slow roasted in sesame oil (covered) in a low temp oven for a couple of hours to soften
Cucumber Kimchi
Adapted from the Momofuku Cookbook
3 lebanese cucumbers
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons korean chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon jarred and salted shrimp
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon thin soy sauce
1/2 carrot
2 green onions
5 cloves garlic
2 inches ginger
Cut the cucumber in half and then split each half into 8 wedges. Halve the wedges lengthwise.
Add 1/2 of the sugar and a pinch of salt to the cucumbers. Let sit for one hour to soften.
Step two: While the cucumber is softening, cut carrots and green parts of onions into matchsticks. Slice the whites of the onion thinly. Mince the garlic and ginger.
Step three: Add remaining salt and sugar to a large bowl. Then add korean chilli flakes, shrimp, fish sauce and thin soy. Stir to combine.
Step four: Add carrots, onions, garlic, and ginger. Stir to coat. Finally add drained cucumbers. Let sit for at least 15 minutes.
Cucumber kimchi can be refrigerated for a few weeks and gets better (although softer) every day
