Friday 19 October 2007

Recipe: Timbales of Smoked Salmon & Celery...



This was one of the first recipes I ever came across from Bruno Loubet, and it remains one of my favourites. It encapsulates all that is great about his work - an unexpected combination of flavours and textures that works supremely well: refreshing, and simple, and complex, and rich, all at the same time. This would be equally in place as part of an al fresco summer lunch-party as it would be as the first course for Christmas dinner.....

For four.

Ingredients: 200g Smoked Salmon (better to use good quality salmon for this; I've tried it using either pre-flaked salmon or pre-packaged 'trimmings' - the difference is noticeable); 2 stalks of Celery; 500g of peeled plum tomatoes (1 standard can of italian tomatoes is fine); a Cucumber; Salt; 1 clove of Garlic; half a slice of White Bread; 2 tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar; Celery Salt; Tabasco; 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil; 4 large fresh Basil leaves; chopped Parsley (for garnish)

Method:

1. Make a Gazpacho by liquidizing the Tomatoes, Bread, half of the Cucumber, Vinegar, and Garlic. Pass this through a sieve, then add Celery Salt and Tabasco, to taste (I'm quite generous with both, but then I like the Gazpacho to have quite a bite - it's all a matter of personal preference). Stir in the Olive Oil, then leave to chill in the fridge for at least half an hour.

2. Finely dice the Smoked Salmon and the Celery. Mix together in a bowl, then set aside.

4. Line 4 ramekins with four large squares of cling-film, the top side of which has been greased.

5. Peel the remaining Cucumber and slice it into paper-thin slices (a mandolin is best for this, but sliced by hand is fine as long as the slices are very, very thin). Line the insides of the ramekins with the Cucumber slices, on top of the cling-film linings, as though lining a charlotte mould.

6. Just before serving, chop the Basil leaves and mix thoroughly with the diced Salmon and Celery; spoon this mixture into the Cucumber-lined ramekins, pressing the mixture firmly down into each ramekin.

7. To serve, invert each ramekin into the centre of a soup plate, and remove the ramekin and cling-film; surround with a ladleful of chilled Gazpacho, and garnish with chopped Parsley.

2 comments:

The Passionate Palate said...

Thank you so much for sharing that recipe! I must admit that the gazpacho and smoked salmon didn't appeal to me at first like the easy combination of salmon, celery and cucumber. However, all the ingredients are simple and pure, and since I've grown to trust your palate and recipes, I will try this as it must be delicious.

Pomiane said...

Well, I hope so......but in this instance it really is a case of chacun à son goût...All I can say is that I certainly like it....