smoked salmon Archives

On Sundays we like to eat big breakfasts. And elaborate lunches, a lavish afternoon tea and sometimes even a few in-betweens. Sitting around the table at home or eating out at a restaurant, filling each other in on the week that was, debating over the menu or simply watching our little boys voice out their opinion at every opportunity… is our favourite way of relaxing on a holiday. By dinner time we are either on a guilt trip or stuffed till the brim. Naturally no one is hungry for a meal. A soup or a light sandwich is generally our first choice but on days we wish for a lighter yet fitting end to a great day, I make a quick pizza. Wondering if a pizza could ever have anything to do with small or light, well it could. If you make it from scratch. You decide the portions, you pick the toppings and trust me when I say..homemade pizza is better than any takeaway.

Making pizza dough is actually such a simple process. It hardly fails, freezes well and appeals to kids and adults alike. When I have leftover dough (which is most often) I either store it to make a rosemary Focaccia bread or roll out a few Naan breads (Indian flatbread) with a little garlic butter the next day. It is such a versatile dough. For extra flavour, you can add some thyme, rosemary or oregano leaves, fresh or dried.

I used the left over smoked salmon from my salmon scotch egg recipe to make this. You can use prosciutto, leftover chicken, paneer, tofu, grilled pumpkin, pineapple, your favourite cheese..literally any topping of your choice. I have skipped the cheese to make it healthier…relatively! I love sour cream and find it extremely useful to make fillings for sweet and savory or just dolloping it over soups, pancakes or pizzas. And lastly adding leafy greens not only enhances the look but also is a good source of nutrition. Roll out your pizzas in any shape, size or thickness as you prefer. I am actually known for my pizzas-for-two. Simply roll out the dough in a rectangle and add your toppings. Once ready slice them in as many ways as you want.

Smoked Salmon, Olives and Herbed Sour Cream Pizza

Pizza Dough (makes two 12 inch pizzas)
3 cups Plain Flour
2 tsp/7g/1 sachet dried yeast
1/2 tsp castor sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups warm water
1 tbsp olive oil
Olive oil, for brushing
Semolina or Polenta, to dust

Pizza Topping
1 tbsp passata/pizza sauce
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
A few slices of smoked salmon
A handful kalamata olives
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive oil for drizzling
A handful of spinach, rocket, thyme and dill leaves

For the Herbed Sour Cream
1/4 cup sour cream
a few sprigs of parsley/oregano/thyme/chives finely chopped

Make the dough: Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the warm water and olive oil. Mix together and use your hands to bring it to a soft dough. Knead it on a floured surface to make it smooth and pliable. Return it to the mixing bowl that has been brushed with oil. Add the dough and turn to coat.
Cover with a damp tea towel. Set aside in a warm place for 30 minutes or until dough doubles in size. Punch down dough with your fist. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead it gently for a minute. Halve the dough and roll it out to the desired portion and thickness.

Make the topping: Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C. Dust pizza tray with semolina or polenta. Place the rolled out dough onto the prepared tray. Spread a thin layer of passata or pizza sauce around the base of the pizza. Top with smoked salmon, olives and red onion. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10 minutes or until base is crisp. While the pizza is baking mix the sour cream and herbs together to make herbed sour cream. Remove the pizza from the oven, dollop with sour cream and top with leafy greens.

If you love entertaining and look for recipes that are simple yet impressive, I’ve got just that for you today. Scotch eggs are great as a starter or a snack or even a side dish. Typically, a Scotch egg is a hard boiled egg encased in sausage meat mixture, crumbed and deep fried. Of course there are many variations that exist mainly in the type of casing that is used. Any kind of mince would work and the type of seasoning largely determines the flavours.

Tweaking the classic ingredients, I used Smoked Salmon to coat the egg and that gave the dish a delicate appeal. It barely took any time to get this ready but the reactions of the people at the table were worth noting. I served it with a orange radicchio salad to have some sweet, bitter tangy flavours on the plate. You can serve it with with any salad of your choice or a simple lemon aioli (lemon infused mayonnaise). I enjoyed plating up this dish as the colours look lovely together. However, I just managed a few photographs with guests waiting at the table.

I have been very busy lately. And I apologise for being a bit late in visiting my blogger friends. Most of the times I click through the links but unable to complete reading the full post and make a mental note to go back. And then the backlog just builds up. Along with the number of incomplete drafts in my folders. At times I wish there were more hours to a day. No..not really…then I might have not made it to the bed at all and slept off at my desk.
The good news is that its Spring at last and it’s showing. Everywhere.! I love Spring and what it does to the world!

Smoked Salmon Scotch Eggs with Orange Radicchio Salad

Smoked Salmon Scotch Eggs

4 hard boiled eggs
100 g smoked salmon, roughly chopped
2 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion roughly chopped
1 tsp mixed dried herbs (or freshly chopped)
1/2 cup plain flour for dredging
1 large egg lightly beaten
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I used ordinary breadcrumbs as I ran out of Panko. If available, I prefer using Panko breadcrumbs)
salt and pepper for seasoning
Vegetable oil for deep frying

Place the smoked salmon, garlic, onion and mixed herbs into a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Transfer the mixture into a bowl and mix with the mashed potatoes. Season with salt and black pepper, mixing well to combine.
Divide the mixture into four, mould one portion around a boiled egg and roll it into a circle. Repeat with the remaining mixture and boiled eggs. Dredge the salmon-wrapped eggs in flour, then dip quickly into the beaten egg to coat. Spread the breadcrumbs out on a plate and roll the wrapped eggs in the breadcrumbs. Repeat the process, dipping each wrapped egg again into the beaten egg and breadcrumbs until thoroughly coated.
Heat vegetable oil in a heavy bottomed pan or wok. Carefully place the eggs into the hot oil, a few at a time, and deep-fry for 2-3 minutes, or until golden-brown and crisp on the outside. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Orange Radicchio Salad

2 Navel Oranges peeled and segmented
A few leaves of radicchio, coarsely torn
A handful rocket leaves
2-3 thinly sliced smoked salmon, coarsely chopped
1 tsp honey
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Place the first 4 ingrdients together in a large bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients together to make the dressing. Pour onto the bowl just before serving. Toss to combine.

To plate: Place a scotch egg in the centre of the plate. Arrange the salad around the scotch egg horizontally. Drizzle with a bit of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with cracked pepper.