Rachel Allen's rillettes of fresh smoked salmon with melba toast recipe
A posh starter recipe to impress guests. Works perfectly with homemade melba toast.
Tip: Salmon rillettes will keep perfectly in the refrigerator for 5-6 days provided they are sealed with clarified butter. To make clarified butter, melt 75g (3oz) butter gently in a saucepan. Allow it to stand for a few minutes, and then skim off the crusty white layer of salt particles from the top. Underneath this crust there is clear liquid butter, which is the clarified butter. The milky liquid at the bottom can be discarded or used in a white sauce. Pack the salmon rillettes into individual pots or a larger pottery terrine and level the surface. Carefully pour the clarified butter over the top. Chill to form a sealed layer.
Ingredients
- 75 g butter, softened
- 200 g smoked wild or organic Irish salmon
- 1 tsp water
- 200 g skinless fresh salmon fillet
- 1 pinch freshly ground pepper and nutmeg
- 1 squeeze lemon juice, to taste
- 6 slices medium-cut white bread from a large sliced loaf
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced (unpeeled)
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 25 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Details
- Cuisine: French
- Recipe Type: Starter
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 35 mins
- Cooking Time: 15 mins
- Serves: 6
Step-by-step
- For the cucumber pickle: Combine the cucumber and onion sliced in a bowl (not a metal one). Add the sugar, salt and vinegar. Place in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator and leave for at least 4-5 hours or overnight before using.
- Melt 15g (1/2oz) butter in a saucepan. Add the smoked salmon and 1 tsp of water. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until it no longer looks opaque. Cool and refrigerate until cold.
- At the same time, put the fresh salmon fillet into a saucepan and cover with water. Heat until almost boiling, then turn off the heat and let the salmon poach in the hot water for 5 minutes. Remove, cool and refrigerate until cold.
- When cold, use two forks to shred both the fresh and smoked salmon – you are aiming for a coarse, slightly stringy texture.
- Beat the remaining butter in a bowl, then add the salmon and mix together, still using a fork (do not use a food processor). Season with pepper and nutmeg. Taste and add lemon juice as necessary. Cover and chill.
- Just before serving, make the Melba toast. Toast the bread on both sides. Cut the crusts off immediately and then split in half to create very thin slices. Scrape off any soft crumb, cut into triangles and put back under the grill, un-toasted side up for a few seconds until the edges curl up. Serve with the rillettes.
Recipe provided by Kerrygold.
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