beetroot mash up

this recipe is a mash up of Jamie Oliver's beetroot carpaccio, Nigel Slaters beetroot cured salmon and Polpo's horseradish dressing.
We have served it as a starter a couple of times and people seem to really enjoy it.
The salmon looks absolutely beautiful when cured with beetroot. There are loads of recipes on the web but my favourite is this one from Nigel Slater. The only slight amendment I would make is to lightly rinse the salmon to make sure all the cure comes off making the salt flavour really delicate.
For the same reason I advocate curing for a little less time than he does ... I would go for 24 -36 hours. So without wishing to state the bleeding obvious, you need to prepare this dish ahead of time!
I have also cheated by using pre cooked beetroot for the carpaccio but you could of course cook from fresh yourself.
nb by pre-cooked I do not mean pickled!

Serves 8-10

the salmon

Ask your fishmonger to scale and bone the salmon, but to leave the skin on. It is worth checking it over for any tiny bones when you get it home.

Ingredients

a side of salmon boned, about 800g
demerara sugar 100g
coarse sea salt 175g
black peppercorns 10g
vodka 4 tbsp
dill a large bunch, about 30g
lemons 2
finely grated orange zest 2 tbsp
raw beetroot 600g

method

Check the salmon for any remaining bones, keeping an eye open for the tiny, almost invisible pin bones. These can be removed with tweezers. Lay the salmon skin-side down on a stainless steel enamel tin or glass dish. If the fish is too long, cut it in half.

Put the demerera sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Roughly grind the peppercorns and add the sugar and the vodka. Roughly chop the dill and its stems, and add to the marinade. Finely grate the lemon zest and add to the sugar mixture with the grated orange zest. Peel and grate the beetroots, then stir into the other ingredients.

Spread the mixture over the fish and rub in well with your hands. Wrap a piece of clingfilm over the fish and place a heavy weight on top. (A small chopping board with a few cans on top will work.) Refrigerate for between 18 - 36 hours.

Pour off and discard any liquid that has seeped from the marinade. Remove the cling film and scrape away the marinade.

Slice the fish thinly, as you would smoked salmon

The carpaccio

Ingredients

2 packs of cooked organic beetroots – waitrose veg section does them (above)

2 lemons

A small bunch of dill, finely chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

2 tsp caster sugar

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp capers, drained and rinsed

Method

Finely grate the zest of one of the lemons and squeeze the juice from both, 

passing it through a fine sieve to ensure no pith or pips remain.

Add to a bowl with the dill, onion, sugar, olive oil, capers and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Whisk all of the ingredients together until fully amalgamated.

Trim the tops and bottoms from the beetroots and discard. Then, using a 

mandolin or a sharp knife, slice the beetroot into very thin rounds. 

Arrange the beetroot slices on a serving platter or individual plates and spoon 

over the dressing, letting it sink into every crevice of the beetroots.

Cover with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving 

(tip: if you cant fit all the loaded plates in the fridge, chill the sliced beetroot in 

one bowl, the plates in a pile and the dressing separately)

The horseradish sauce

Ingredients

250ml crème fraiche

1tbs Dijon mustard

2tbs finely grated horseradish ( The English Provender is available at Waitrose)

1 tbs finely chopped dill

1 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

freshly ground pepper

method

mix all ingredients together and chill.

To assemble the completed dish

putting the final dish together.

Lay the beetroot slices out attractively in one layer on cold plates.

drizzle dressing evenly over each plate

now lay thin slices of salmon in the centre and put a generous blob of horseradish cream to one side