Saturday 20 September 2008

Ask Foodycat II


Historically Hysterical has asked what to do with wild smoked salmon, some lovely looking smoked haddock and smoked garlic, brought back from a smokehouse during her recent sojourn in the Lake District.

Well I am glad she asked! With the smoked salmon I would probably just get some very good bread and a few lemons and make really superior smoked salmon sandwiches. That yummy rose champagne I was drinking last weekend would be just the thing. If you wanted to seriously gild the lily you could make a little herb butter to spread on the bread first but lets not go crazy.
We go to a pub called the Bricklayer's Arms that has an onsite smokehouse, and the smoked fish platter they do as a starter is a superb example of this very simple treatment.

With the smoked haddock I only see 2 possible options. You make a kedgeree that Lizzy Bennett-Darcy would be proud to serve on the breakfast table at Pemberley, or you make a chowder of great beauty.

For the kedgeree, I would melt quite a large knob of butter (buttery kedgeree is good kedgeree) and saute 1tsp panch phora in it until the cumin seeds start to jump about, then add cooked and drained basmati rice to it. You have previously poached your haddock in some milk, so now you break it into big flakes and fold it carefully through the rice with some very finely chopped parsley and some quartered boiled eggs. You tip the whole lot into a baking dish, sprinkle a little of the milk from the poaching over it and dot the top with a few more bits of butter. Then put it in a 180C oven until it is piping hot but not shrivelled at the edges. Kedgeree is a brilliant supper dish with some salad, but it's pretty traditional for the sort of ye olde English breakfast where they have kidneys in chafing dishes and butlers.

For the chowder I would soften an onion in some butter and add some lardons of smoked bacon, then a potato cut into small cubes and a mixture of half milk and half fish stock. After a few minutes I would add the haddock, broken into flakes and the kernels from a corn cob (it really does make a huge difference to use corn freshly cut off the cob for this sort of thing). I'd let it simmer a few minutes until the corn is tender and then season with freshly ground pepper and garnish with chopped chives.

Smoked garlic is a funny one. I've had delicious smoked garlic butter (which is lovely tossed through pasta or smeared thickly on sourdough bread) but when I have bought smoked garlic cloves the smokiness hasn't really penetrated very much into the garlic. So I would probably use the garlic in a roast chicken, where a bit of subtle smoke would be delicious, or I would put a few cloves in while boiling the potatoes to make a smoked garlic mash.

Hope that helps!

9 comments:

NKP said...

I love smoked salmon, the wet smoked we use with bread, etc. The dry flaky stuff I like in a smoked salmon alfredo.
I have not heard of smoked garlic, sounds wonderful. I love garlic too.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Good point - I was assuming we were talking about cold smoked salmon. Hot smoked in an alfredo sounds gorgeous! Thanks Natashya!

Esi said...

Nice suggestions! I love smoked salmon, I think even more than regular coked salmon.

Bettina Douglas said...

I would love to have the smoked fish dilemma! Smoked salmon is my favorite food...
Kedgeree from proper smoked fish (not all yellow food colour and synthetic flavour) is a nostalgic one too.
Kedgeree for breakfast is one of those luxuries that suggest cooks and butlers taking care of the details.

Teresa Cordero Cordell said...

Foodycat, as always your recipes are fantastic. Smoked salmon, delicious. Thanks for the great instructions.

HH said...

Thanks FC!! I will have to give some of this a go. I like the sound of the kedgeree....mmm Thanks again!

Deb in Hawaii said...

Boy I am drooling now--everything sounds incredible. I love good smoked salmon.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Smoked salmon is wonderful - when you get that real silkiness and not too much "fishiness" it is perfect.

HH said...

After nibbling at some of the intensley smokey wild salmon I decided to put some in a risotto tonight along with some prawns, peas and a handful of mushrooms, I also used the smoked garlic which while not particuarly smokey in is own right, as you predicted fc, I will at least pretend added to the flavour. It used lemon olive oil, though I think a bit of lemon zest and or some fresh lemon juice at the end would have topped it off, but it was very nice. Will work on the haddock next.

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