Delicious Appetiser: Salmon Tartare

Salmon tartare is a delicious delicacy for a healthy dish that celebrates the wonderful flavours of seafood.

This easy to make dish makes for a lovely appetiser and serves around seven to eight people.

Created by Chef Sydney de Hart, Head Chef at Open Sesame at Hotel Indigo Dubai Downtown, the recipe is great to serve at get togethers.

Ingredients:

• 1 diced shallot
• 2 lemons, one cut in wedges and one juiced
• 600g skinless fresh salmon fillet
• 2 tablespoons chopped dill
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon crème fraiche
• olive oil or lemon oil
• sourdough toast

Recipe:

1. Put the shallots and the lemon juice in a mixing bowl.
2. Cut the salmon into tiny cubes and add the dill, capers, mustard, crème fraiche, lemon and olive oil.
3. Fold it all together and season with black pepper and salt.
4. Serve in neat rounds with sourdough toast and lemon wedges on the side and a drizzle of lemon oil.

For the avocado puree:

• 6 ripe hash avocados
• 25ml lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

For the pickled cucumber:

• 2 small cucumbers
• 1/2 cup room temperature or cooler water
• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup or sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 20 twists of ground black pepper
• 2 sprigs of chopped dill
• 2 cloves of smashed garlic
• 1 bay leaf

Pickled cucumber recipe:

1. For pickle rounds, cut the cucumber into thin rounds, about 1/8 inch thick or for spears, slice them in half lengthwise, then into quarters and finally into eighths and set aside.
2. Combine the water, vinegar, maple syrup, salt, red pepper flakes, and black pepper in a cup or bowl. Stir until most of the salt has dissolved into the liquid, for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and set aside. 
3. Place the cucumbers into a wide-mouth jar about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, tall enough to offer at least 1 inch of extra space on top (for pickle spears, it is important that all the pickles fit snugly, vertically—a wide-mouth pint-sized mason jar would work well).
4. Top the cucumbers with the dill and garlic. Tuck the bay leaf into the side of the jar. Pour the liquid over the cucumbers till they are fully submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (for pickle rounds) or at least 3 hours (for pickle spears). The flavour will continue to develop over the next couple of days. The pickles can be kept for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

For the dill sour cream:

• 250g sour cream
• 80g chopped dill
• 10g lemon juice
• salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

1. Add sour cream, dill, and lemon juice to a mixing bowl and mix.
2. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Assemble the dish with the salmon mix as the base and top with the avocado puree. Add the pickled cucumber on top of the avocado puree and add some dill sour cream on the side.

Sydney de Hart

Head Chef

Open Sesame at Hotel Indigo Dubai Downtown

04-2102210