Ingredients
- 2 salmon fillets
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- juice 1 lemon
- 1 small cucumber, cut into small batons
- small handful roughly chopped mint
- 20g (¾oz) toasted flaked almonds
- lime wedges, to serve
- you will need
- large handful hickory chips, soaked in water, a deep roasting tin with wire rack, and foil
Method
Heat the oven to 220C, 200C fan, 425F, gas 7. To prepare the smoker, place the hickory chips at the bottom of the roasting tin, and set the wire rack into the tray. Cover the tin with foil, sealing the edges but leaving enough height for the smoke to disperse. Place this in the oven to heat and allow smoke to develop, around 10 minutes.
To smoke the salmon, season the fillets and place on the rack. Try not to let too much smoke escape. Cover again fully with foil. Cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
To make the salad, leave the onion in a bowl with the lemon juice to soften. Heat the cucumber in a wide-based pan on a low heat for 1 minute with ½tbsp water. Add the onion and heat through for 2 minutes. Take off the heat, season then mix with the mint and almonds. To serve, serve the salmon hot alongside the salad and lime wedges.
Top Tip for making Hot Smoked Salmon with Hot Cucumber Salad
Choose the best salmon – wild salmon in the UK has been over-fished and costs a fortune, so buy organic farmed. You want a good apricot colour without white lines of fat, which will give a flabby flavour and shows the fish hasn't had much space to move around.
