Tart London: How to make Seared Salmon Salad

This salad is an all-time favourite of ours, made first at our Queen’s Park pop-up. Having that space was like having a recipe testing laboratory. After the doors would close for the day (we only served breakfast and lunch), we would pour ourselves a glass of wine and motivate ourselves with the wonderful abundance of produce in the kitchen, both getting to work on a couple of dishes each. This salad was made on a surprisingly balmy early spring day. It’s lovely to make at this time of year: light, fresh and singing with flavour. We think it encapsulates our cooking style with the contrasts of texture and taste.

Seared Salmon Salad (Serves 2)

Ingredients

For the marinade

2 inch thumb of ginger,

finely grated

1 clove of garlic, pressed

1 tbsp white miso

2 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 salmon fillets

For the pickled veg

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks

½ cucumber, cut into matchsticks

½ daikon, cut into matchsticks

1 inch thumb of ginger, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

½ tbsp caster sugar

1 tsp fish sauce

For the salad

Large handful of salad leaves

1 tbsp sesame oil

Juice of ½ lemon

1 avocado, peeled, de-stoned

and thinly sliced

1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

2 tbsp chives, chopped

Method

Mix together all the marinade ingredients in a bowl, and then add your salmon. Leave for at least an hour.

Pickle your vegetables by mixing all ingredients in a bowl and leaving for 30 minutes, stirring every so often to ensure everything is well coated.

Heat your grill to high. Place the salmon in an ovenproof dish and pour over the marinade. Place under the grill and cook for 5-8 minutes until well charred on top.

To serve, toss the salad leaves with the sesame oil and lemon juice and season. Arrange on a plate then top with pickled veg, slices of avocado and the hot salmon. Drizzle over any remaining marinade, sprinkle over the seeds and chives and serve immediately.