Ingredients

Serves 4-6

Fresh & Smoked Salmon Brandade
750ml white wine
2 tbsp chopped golden shallots
1 tsp sea salt
450g fresh salmon cut into 2.5 cm cubes
85g smoked salmon, finely chopped
2 tbsp finely chopped chives
½ lemon, juiced
250ml mayonnaise
Sea salt and freshly milled pepper

Irish Soda bread with Caraway
865g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
150g sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp salt
¼ cup caraway seeds
800ml buttermilk

Method

Fresh & Smoked Salmon Brandade
Boil wine, shallot and salt. Add fresh salmon & poach for 40 seconds only. Drain & briefly refresh salmon in iced water (20 seconds). Refrigerate till totally cold, discard wine.


Combine smoked salmon, chives and fresh salmon, Stir to shred salmon. Stir in lemon juice and mayonnaise and season to taste.

Irish Soda bread with Caraway
Sift all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add buttermilk all at once.
Mix until just holding together - the mix should not form a smooth dough.

Divide into two and mould into a rough loaf shape. Flour baking sheet lightly. Place loaves on top and dust loaves lightly with a little additional flour.

Bake at 140-150°C for one hour, turning after 40 minutes. Remove from oven & cover with a damp towel to stop a crust forming. Eat warm with lashings of butter!!!

Notes
The reason we cut the salmon to a specific size is to control the caisson - the cooking. You want it to remain pink in the centre. By controlling the size and the time there is never an attrition!! Cooks don’t like attritions.

This brandade is perfect for your leftover pieces of fresh and smoked salmon.

It is advisable to have all elements at the same temperature as you are combining oily fish with an oil based dressing. If the brandade looks a little greasy, stir in a little cream or sour cream to ‘bring it back.’ 

The brandade is also great served with grilled bread that has been rubbed with a clove of garlic.