Smoked Salmon
This dish gets rave reviews, and is extremely simple: cold-smoked salmon is shaved into thin slices and stacked with phyllo discs and whipped cream flavored with lime. You’ll want to use the finest smoked salmon you can find for this simple showpiece.
Ingredients
- Phyllo Discs
- Olive oil for brushing
- Phyllo Sheets - 2
- Sesame seeds - 1 cup
- Lime Cream
- Heavy (whipping) cream - 1 cup, beaten to firm peaks
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- Fillet of cold-smoked salmon - one, 1 to 1-1/2 pound
- Roe - 2 ounces
- Dill sprigs - 4
- Parsley - 1 bunch
- Paprika oil - 2 tablespoons (see Basics, flavored oils)
- Parsley oil - 2 tablespoons (see Basics, flavored oils)
Instructions
To make the phyllo discs: Preheat the oven to 325 F. Brush two baking sheets lightly with olive oil. Cut six 5-inch circles from each phyllo sheet and place on the prepared baking sheets. Brush lightly with olive oil. Sprinkle four with sesame seeds. Bake 5 minutes, until crisp and golden.
To prepare the cream: Gently fold the zest and lime juice into the cream.
To prepare the salmon: Place the salmon on a work sheet and smooth off any bumpy places on the surface. Starting at the tail end, with a sharp knife, cut 32 very thin slices of salmon, approximately six inches long. Avoid or remove the dark strip of meat in the salmon. Lift a piece in both hands, fold the piece in half lengthwise, and curve it into a circle, tucking the ends together. Repeat with the other pieces.
To assemble and serve: Spoon about 3 tablespoons of lime cream onto each of four serving plates, smoothing into a circle. Place a plain phyllo disc on each. Place 4 salmon pieces on each disc and add a dollop of lime cream in the center of each salmon circle. Top with another phyllo disc and repeat with the remaining salmon. Add a dollop of lime cream in the center of each. Top with the seeded phyllo discs, seed-side up. Make four quenelles of the remaining lime cream, using two tablespoons to shape the quenelles, and place on top of each stack. Put a small spoonful of roe on each quenelle. Decorate the plates with small bits of salmon, small sprigs of dill, and parsley. Drizzle paprika oil and parsley oil around the plates.
