Beetroot and Gin Cured Salmon with Wholemeal Blini

Entertaining season is firmly upon us – and when I say firmly upon us, I mean it has slapped us over the head with endless client lunches, after work drinks and multiple weekend catch ups. It seems everyone feels the need to try and catch up before Christmas… but why? It’s not like the world stops turning after Christmas, actually, I would probably prefer to catch up in January when I’m more relaxed.

Alas, it isn’t meant to be as we still try and fit it all in. But something has got to give if you are a real mere mortal like me. It’s either the Christmas shopping that gets left till last, or the Christmas Day feast planning. Never fear though, I am on the case to give you a minimum effort, maximum return dish that well and truly can be prepared ahead, is served cold and will make you look like a star. It’s great for either a pre-Christmas gathering where you have to bring a dish or the start of the feast for the epic day of days.

I had been thinking about making this beetroot and gin cured salmon for Christmas for a little while, and after mentioning it in conversation to the awesome people at Huon Aquaculture who I know through my work with Opera Australia, they quickly offered to “hook me up” with an incredibly fresh side of salmon (seriously, these Huon guys need to be my new “best” friends with their sweet Salmon connections).

Those who are regular readers of Chew Town know that if theres Gin to be drunk… I’m there! However, if you dig a little deeper, you will notice that whenever Gin is involved, its always Hendrick’s. This is not because I have any special relationship with Hendrick’s (in-fact I’ve never drunk a bottle that hasn’t been paid for), its because Hendrick’s Gin is just that.damn.good. It’s THE only reason I drink gin… by the bucketload.

When planning this beetroot and gin cured salmon side history and my palate dictated that the gin would be Hendrick’s. Using that as the base, I looked into the botanicals and aromatics used in the making of the gin I so admire, and incorporated them into the curing mixture. So, along with beetroot, in this curing mixture you will find cucumber, juniper berry, fennel and rose. It gives the resulting cured salmon an incredible fresh and floral fragrance and is well worth the extra ingredients.

I busted this bad boy out at a weekend away in the country with lovely friends and served it on little wholemeal blini with nigella seeds, creme fraiche and dill tips. There were nine of us in the room and we had to literally pull ourselves away from it to get to the other courses. I cannot recommend this truly make ahead dish enough for entertaining. I put it all together, let it cure in the beetroot mix for two days, and then cleaned it all up and stored in the fridge till ready to eat. It is the perfect make ahead meal and will have you looking like a star for hardly any effort at all.

NOTE: A twinsies recipe shout out to the gorgeous Winston over on The Hungry Excavator. Just as I had my salmon doing its curing in the fridge, I saw him share a lovely Beetroot and Gin Cured Salmon recipe over on his blog (great minds think alike as they say)! Luckily, after reading his recipe I realised ours have different flavours (phew!) – so why not try his after you’ve had a crack at my recipe below.

Chew Town was not paid to develop this recipe, but was gifted the Salmon  from Huon Aquaculture with thanks. To read Chew Town’s disclosure policy please visit the About page.