Smoked Salmon Tails with Cauliflower Couscous and Nigella Seeds - Chef Recipe by Simon Bajada

Ingredients

"Being one of the oiliest parts of the salmon, smoked salmon tails have an intense flavour and are very moist. Smoked salmon tails may be tricky to find outside the Nordic countries but any hot-smoked salmon will work well here as a substitute. For the cauliflower couscous I like to use a purple cauliflower to give the dish a great visual impact, but it's not essential.." ~ Simon Bajada.

800 g (1 lb 12 oz) whole coloured or regular cauliflower
1 tsp crushed fennel seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp olive oil (optional)
1 Tbs rapeseed oil
300 g (101/2 oz) hot-smoked salmon tails or fillet
1/2 granny smith apple, peeled, cored and cut into thin slices
125 ml (4 fl oz/?1/2 cup)Horseradish & Apple Yoghurt Dressing
1 Tbs nigella seeds or black sesame seeds
Dill, to garnish
Linseed & Poppy Crisps to serve

Method

Remove the stem and leaves from the cauliflower and place in a food processor. Pulse briefly, scraping down the sides of the processor as you go, until the texture resembles that of couscous or rice. Be careful not to over-mix it, you want an even texture (you may have to do this in batches).

Stir the fennel seeds through the cauliflower. You now have two options: you can either eat the cauliflower raw if you like – in which case add the lemon juice at this stage to help break it down a little – or you can cook the cauliflower and then chill it.
If cooking the cauliflower, heat the olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat.

Add the cauliflower, cover with a lid and sauté for 5 minutes, uncovering and stirring regularly to allow for even cooking. Tip the cooked cauliflower into a bowl and transfer to the refrigerator for 10 minutes to cool.

When ready to serve, drizzle the rapeseed oil over the cauliflower. Squeeze over the lemon juice if you haven’t already used it and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the cauliflower between serving bowls. Top with the salmon tails or fillet and the apple slices, drizzle over the yoghurt dressing and scatter over the nigella seeds. Garnish with dill and serve with crispbreads.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Nordic Light by Simon Bajada published by Hardie Grant Books RRP $49.99 and is available in stores nationally.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Nordic Light by Simon Bajada published by Hardie Grant Books RRP $49.99 and is available in stores nationally.