Spring fling

PLATE UP A FINAL SERVING OF THE SEASON AS WE GET SET FOR SUMMER CREAMY SALMON & ASPARAGUS CREPES SERVES 6. PREP 20 MINS. COOK 50 MINS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ¾ cups plain flour

• 4 ½ cups milk

• 4 eggs

• Olive oil spray

• 40g butter

• 1 small leek, white part only, thinly sliced

• 1 cup pure cream

• 500g skinless boneless salmon fillets, halved crossways

• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed, cut into 2cm lengths

• 2 tsp finely grated lemon rind

• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

• ½ cup grated colby cheese

• 1 bunch watercress, trimmed, sprigs picked

• 2 Lebanese cucumbers, thinly sliced

• 1 red onion, cut into thin wedges

• ¼ cup fresh curly parsley sprigs

• ⅓ cup French dressing

METHOD

1 Sift 1½ cups of the flour into a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre. Whisk 2½ cups milk and eggs together in a jug. Add milk mixture to flour. Season with salt and pepper. Whisk until combined. 2 Spray a medium (20cm base) frying pan with oil. Heat over medium heat. Pour ¼ cup batter into pan, swirling to cover base. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden underneath and bubbles appear on the surface. Turn. Cook for 1 minute. Transfer crepe to a plate. Cover to keep warm.

Repeat with remaining batter to make 12 crepes in total.

3 Melt butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add leek. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add remaining flour. Cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in remaining milk and the cream. Bring to the boil, whisking. Boil for 1 minute or until thickened slightly. Carefully transfer half the cream mixture to a heatproof jug. Cover surface with plastic wrap. Set aside. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add salmon to remaining cream mixture in pan. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 8 minutes or until salmon is just cooked through. Remove from heat. Roughly flake salmon. Stir in asparagus. Cool for 10 minutes. Add lemon rind and dill. Season with salt and pepper.

4 Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced. Grease a 4cm-deep, 22cm x 33cm ovenproof dish. Place 1 crepe on a flat surface. Spoon ¼ cup salmon mixture down centre of crepe. Roll up to enclose filling. Place in prepared dish, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining crepes and salmon mixture. Spoon reserved cream mixture over crepes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

5 Place watercress, cucumber, onion and parsley in a large bowl. Drizzle with dressing. Toss to combine. Serve crepes with salad.