Very easy and looks amazing. Great for a dinner party starter if you want something that looks and tastes different. The beetroot and cure gives it an earthy, salty, sweet salmony flavour. Allow two days for this, so don’t leave it too late! This makes enough for six people.
Make the cure first:
- 500g raw beetroot
- 250g caster sugar
- 500g salt
- 3g fennel seeds (about a tablespoon)
- half a bunch of tarragon or dill (optional)
Blitz all this in a food processor. If you whizz it finely it will turn to liquid, but no matter.
- Half a side of salmon
Put your salmon in a shallow dish. Pour the cure over and cover with cling film. Leave 10 hours in a fridge. Turn the salmon. Leave 20 hours (plus or minus a few hours). The salmon will have turned deep red and gone stiff. Take it out and rinse under a tap. Pat dry with a paper towel. Use or keep in the fridge. To serve, slice thinly at an angle like smoked salmon. Here we served it with a hot smoked salmon pate (made just like mackerel pate); winter root slaw and thyme crackers as a super-posh starter.
