Every party needs a centrepiece.
And over the years salmon has often been it. Whether it’s been poached and served with chilled cucumber or smoked and scoffed with buttered brown bread, we’ve enjoyed this delicious fish gracing our tables dressed up in a number of ways.
I wanted to make a salmon dish for todays tastes, bringing together interesting ingredients with the wow factor, and marrying it with clementines and bourbon seemed to be just that. The glaze is sticky and the dip earthy, perfect for going with the rich salmon, but if bourbon isn’t your thing you could simply substitute it for vodka or gin — both will work well with the other flavourings. And needless to say, whichever you choose to anoint your salmon with, make sure you accompany your eatings with a little glass. Hic.
For six to ten
For the fish
- 1 side salmon, pin boned by your fishmonger
- 100ml bourbon
- 4 tbsp runny honey
- Rind and juice of 5 clementines
- 3 clementines finely sliced
For the beetroot sauce
- 3 cooked beetroots (not pickled) grated
- 100ml Greek yogurt
- Juice of 1 clementine
- A generous grind of black pepper
- A scrunch of sea salt
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (fan oven).
- Start by making your sauce, simply combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir, then put in the fridge to chill until needed.
- For the glaze, heat the clementine juice, zest, bourbon and honey in a pan for 10 minutes until simmering, then reduce the heat and add the sliced clementines and cook for 10 another minutes.
- Remove the sliced clementines from the syrup carefully with a fork and set aside.
- Return the syrup to the heat, continuing to cook and reduce the thickness until thick and syrupy and shiny — this should take another 5 to 10 minutes.
- Place your fish on a lined baking sheet and dress with the clementine slices, as shown or just down the centre, whichever you prefer. Now using a pastry brush glaze the salmon and clementines all over.