Recipe

Mezze platter with salmon gravlax

Rich, opulent European dishes put an international spin on any occasion. This platter works as an entree, paired with hearty breads.

Apr 27, 2014 2:00pm
  • 20 mins preparation
  • 25 mins cooking
  • Serves 4
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Ingredients

Gin Salmon
  • 400 gram piece salmon fillet, skin on, pin bones removed
  • 4 tablespoon sea salt
  • 4 tablespoon gin
  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 2 tablespoon fennel tips, chopped
White bean & roasted tomato dip
  • 4 tomatoes, halved
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • 1 sprig rosemary
  • 4 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 400 gram tin cannellini beans, drained
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
Spiced beetroot dip
  • 400 gram tin beetroot, drained
  • 1 cup cooked bulghur wheat
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper, to season
To serve
  • 100 gram baby spinach, stalks removed
  • 1 packham pear
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 endive, finely sliced lengthways
  • handful lentil sprouts
  • 2 tablespoon fennel tips, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 packet lavosh crackers

Method

Gin Salmon
  • 1
    Coat salmon with salt, gin, mustard powder and fennel. Wrap in cling film and place in a dish with a small plate on top. Lightly weight the plate down.
  • 2
    Leave in the fridge overnight. Once ready, thinly slice.
White bean & roasted tomato dip
  • 3
    Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Place tomatoes in a roasting dish, flesh-side up. Scatter with salt, rosemary and garlic on top. Roast for 20 minutes, then cool.
  • 4
    Remove rosemary and blitz tomatoes with beans and oil until smooth.
Spiced beetroot dip
  • 5
    Blitz the beetroot together with bulghur wheat, zest and curry powder.
  • 6
    Add oil and keep blitzing until smooth. Season.
To serve
  • 7
    Blanch the spinach in salted, boiling water, then refresh in cold.
  • 8
    Remove pear core and slice. Toss in lemon juice.
  • 9
    Combine spinach and pear with endive, sprouts and fennel, then drizzle with oil.
  • 10
    Arrange salmon, dips and salad on a platter. Serve with lavosh.

Notes

Be sure to marinate the salmon overnight to let the gin and salt do its trick. Any spirit that is high in alcohol will work really well as a preservative, so if you don’t have gin or don’t love the flavour, opt for cognac, brandy or vodka. I often use salmon that has been farmed in the sea, such as Akaroa salmon. Because it has to swim in harsher currents, I find the fish is less fatty and offers a crisper, cleaner taste. There’s no right or wrong rule with a dip! Get creative and throw together your favourite flavours. If an ingredient, such as cucumber, has too much moisture, roast it to dry it out before mixing it with seasonings.

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