Smoked salmon & boiled eggs salad
A perfect combo of flavours and textures
1 loaf ciabatta
2 small avocados, stoned and sliced
1 lemon
½ cucumber
2 handfuls mixed fresh herbs, leaves picked
1 punnet cress, snipped
2 tablespoons mixed seeds (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower and poppy seeds)
1 blood orange, halved
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
200 g smoked salmon
Soft boiled eggs
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Heat a griddle pan until it is screaming hot – this will take about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, cut the ciabatta in half lengthways, then cut into four equal-sized pieces.
Place the sliced avocado in a bowl and squeeze over some lemon juice to stop it from discoloring. Using a speed peeler or potato peeler, slice the cucumber into long, thin strips on top of the avocado. Add the herbs and cress.
Lightly toast the seeds in a dry pan on a medium to low heat, and place to one side to cool. Squeeze a tablespoon of juice out of the blood orange into a bowl, and add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Season it well and give it a mix.
Griddle your ciabatta squares in the griddle pan, charring both sides. Once they are nicely toasted, drizzle with a little of the dressing and put to one side. Place a square of ciabatta on each of four plates, then top each with a quarter of the smoked salmon.
Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the dressing over the salad and very gently mix with your fingertips. If you feel it needs more dressing, add a little extra, but try not to go overboard – you want it to be very light. Top the smoked salmon with the salad. Slice the soft boiled eggs in half and put them on the plate or on top of the salad. Finish your delicious starter with a sprinkling of toasted seeds, using half a tablespoon per plate, and garnish with a lemon wedge.
