John Torode’s smoked salmon, cucumber, capers & soda bread
This is a crowd-pleasing, help-yourself starter. I’ve used smoked salmon, but smoked trout, gravadlax or prosciutto will work just as well. Take the bread out of the oven an hour before and it will still be warm when it hits the table.
Serves 6 Prep 10 mins Cook 35 mins bread only
1 large cucumber small bunch of dill, chopped
200g pack smoked salmon small jar capers in brine
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
FOR THE SODA BREAD
280g strong white flour, plus a little
extra for dusting
200g wholemeal flour
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda 350ml buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp clear honey butter, to serve
1 First, make the soda bread. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 4 and dust a large baking sheet with flour. In a large bowl, combine the flours, bicarbonate of soda and 1/4 tsp salt. Pour the buttermilk, egg and honey into a jug and whisk to combine.
2 Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet mixture. Using a wooden spoon, bring the mixture together to form a dough – if it’s too wet and sticky, add a little extra flour. Shape into a rough ball and place on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle over a little flour, make a criss-cross incision on top of the loaf and bake in the oven for 35 mins – the bread is cooked when you tap the bottom and it sounds hollow. Slide onto a wire rack to cool a little before slicing.
3 Meanwhile, using a peeler, slice the cucumber into long ribbons, but discard the seeded centre. Place in a bowl, sprinkle with a little seasoning and mix well with the dill.
4 Serve at the table with the salmon slices, capers, lemon wedges, soda bread and butter. PER SERVING 403 kcals, fat 6g, saturates 1g,
carbs 63g, sugars 5g, fibre 6g, protein 21g, salt 2g