Recipe: Beetroot Cured Salmon Sushi (Salmon Nigiri)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

We were recently asked to do a Prince themed party the brief was relatively carte blanche but one course was specifically requested: a beetroot cured salmon. So after a little homework I created kind of sashimi dish. I’d call it a tataki or carpaccio but there is no searing involved! 

The creation was a lightly cured salmon dish served with a horseradish parfait, orange candied beetroot and red pepper puree. 

Quite pleased with it decided to upgrade my fillet roulette recipe’s nigiri element with a milder version of the cure.

It’s cured for less time to retain the texture in the centre of the cut.

ingredients (enough for 12 nigiri)

for the cured salmon 

(start about 10AM day before)

1/2 side salmon 

   (as fresh as possible, nigiri cut) 

-

150g raw beetroot (peeled diced)

2g cumin seeds

1/2 orange (chopped zest & juice)

100g caster sugar

200g sea salt

~

To create the cure blend all ingredients (except for salmon & orange juice).

The skirt of the salmon is used for nigiri. It has a fattier content that goes well wit the rice ball.

Cut along the length of the piece of salmon about half a centimetre under the row of bones in the centre.

Skin the salmon and create a neat block.

Pat the block dry with kitchen towel.

Line a tray with cling film.

Put 1/3 of the cure into the tray, add the salmon skin side up.

Pour the other 2/3 on top, make sure the salmon is completely coated.

Wrap it with the cling film and leave to cure for 12hrs.

Turn and redistribute the mix, cure for another 12hrs (overnight). 

When cutting the salmon, cut across the grain of the fat so you’re nigiri have a nice texture and are nicely striped.

The nigiri already have a certain amount of seasoning form the cure so I  served them with a light ponzu dip, wasabi and ginger as a palette cleanser. Lush!

more about the prince party menu & comments

Recipe: Orange, Beetroot & Pistachio Nougat (Turron, Nougat)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

We were  recently asked to do a Prince themed party for Immy of Miss Immy’s London. 
The brief was:  “A nod to Prince and his lyrics and some purple action in the menu but not to go mad with the purple!!” So we knocked a few ideas about and came up with the first draft of the menu. 

Orange, Beetroot & Pistachio Nougat

I’d agreed a desert called “Butterscotch Clouds & Raspberry Sorbet”, and although I had a rough idea what I was aiming for I hadn’t quite got a complete picture in my head. Now that’s not great! You see the masterchef lot get given invention tests all the time, and the half baked ones don’t always end well!! At all!

In the end (I think I finished about 3AM the night before service) I created an array of components hoping I’d be able to create something that passed for “Butterscotch Clouds & Raspberry Sorbet” the following day!

On the list of components was the obvious raspberry sorbet, butterscotch creme pat, and and Italian meringue. (for me butter scotch clouds)

hibiscus meringue spears

Then less obvious, borage & lemon meringue, some hibiscus meringue spears, rum baba, raspberry & Champagne syrup, and various fruits (raspberry, passion & pomegranate), and an orange & beetroot nougatine. Well a nougat in the end.

And In the final analysis . . . 

Butterscotch Clouds & Raspberry Sorbet

Bloody hell it’s sweet!! I’m not a huge dessert fan, but I quite like this one. (Ahem, and I thought it met the brief.)

This is the recipe for my favourite component: the orange and beetroot nougat with roasted pistachio nuts.

ingredients (makes 2 trays - 18cm x 25cm)

for the orange & beetroot syrup (200ml)

200ml grenadine

400ml orange juice (fresh)

2 beetroot (peeled & grated)

~

Put ingredients into a small pot and bring to the boil, set to simmer and reduce by 2/3. 

Sieve and put aside until needed.

for the nougat

200g orange & beetroot syrup 

380g sugar

175g glucose

-

125g honey

2 tangerines (zest)

-

60g egg white

10g sugar

- 

800g pistachio (shelled)

-

rice paper (or 50/50 cornflour / icing sugar mix)

~

This is all pretty tight timing wise, so everything has to be ready before you start the syrup!! You have been warned!

First line trays with rice paper, or 50/50 cornflour / icing sugar mix, if you can’t get rice paper.

Put the nuts in the oven @ 140C

Blast the honey & zest in the microwave until it’s bubbling then put to one side. Add it to the syrup just before adding the syrup to the egg whites.

Take the orange syrup, sugar and glucose mix up to 155C.

Start whisking the egg whites when syrup hits 110C, whisk it until it reaches soft peaks. (best to use a standing mixer, see what could go wrong)

Pour syrup into the egg white slowly so as not to wreck the meringue. Keep whisking for 3minutes.

Take the warm nuts out of the oven and fold them into meringue. Pour the mix out into 2 heavy gauge trays lined with rice paper. 

Oil a pallet knife and smooth out the mix then top w/ rice paper (or 50/50 cornflour / icing sugar mix) and flatten with another tray.

Glad wrap it (cling film), and put it into the fridge to set. 

Vac pack / glad wrap when set. 

Cut when needed 1x3cm pieces. 

Or 5cm, or make a texan bar out of it . . . whua har har!!  (Leave the nuts out to do that, probably need to take the sugar unto 165C too)

apparatus / equipment

Standing mixer.

Temperature probe. (preferably with an alarm!)

This gadget is handy because it changes colour and bleeps
when it reaches the target temperature - handy!

what could go wrong? (notes)

The first time I tried to make something similar to this - turron - I used a hand whisk when mixing in the 155C syrup. Looking back on it I was extremely lucky not to get badly burnt! As soon as the syrup hit the whisk molten sugar when flying all over the kitchen - really dangerous! Pour the hot syrup slowly down the side of the bowl.

If you pour the syrup in too quickly it over cooks the egg and you get a kind of cooked egg white consistency, not what you want. Pour the syrup in really slowly as the mixer works it in.

Le creme de la creme would be proud!! (ish,  kinda, probably get slammed actually! Whole 1mm out!)

Do not vac pack it after you have cut it because it will simply turn back into one single block!! Oops.

variations

There are so many type of nougat out there it’s crazy!! The basics are the same Have fun!