Salmon Tartare

I am so chuffed to be part of a great twitter bunch called the ‘Lets Lunch bunch’ – a group from all over the world (started by Cheryl Tan, author of “Tiger in the kitchen” , a delectable and beautiful food memoir that I am reading/can’t put down at the moment, and have sadly had to put down to write this post in time) – who have one main thing in common…a love of food, cooking and sharing recipes. And each month, someone determines the criteria for the next month’s posting. All the others have blogs which gives them the best platform to post, whereas I do my posting via the “Monday Morning Cooking Club’ facebook page beecause i don’t have a blog. Anyone can join in!

Last month it was “pies”…and there were some mighty fine pie recipe and pics shared around. Check them out at http://canityounit.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/strawberry-pie-in-jars/ – they are all so lovely!

This month, the brief is “nibblies to have with champagne”. Nice! This is my second #LetsLunch bunch ‘lunch’ and even thought it’s not really ‘lunch’ this time as such, with the time difference I have, compared to the rest of the bunch, it actually doesn’t even matter what meal of the day it is.

Without a doubt (and anyone who has been to my place in the last 15 years can vouch for this), my favourite thing to serve with champers is salmon tartare on little toasts. Light, summery, tangy, easy to make and to serve, the only challenges being to find the best, freshest salmon you can find and choosing good quality bread for the toast.

Everything (except a final lemonning and seasoning) is do-ahead, so there is no last minute rushing around before the visitors arrive.

Salmon Tartare

• 1 kg fresh raw sashimi-grade Salmon, diced into small pea-sized bits
• 4 teaspoons Dijon mustard, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons best quality mayonnaise
• 4 tablespoons chopped chives
• 4 tablespoons chopped baby capers
• 4 tablespoons chopped cornichons
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• juice of 1-2 lemons, or to taste
• salt and pepper

For Toasts

• thin sourdough baguettes
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, bruised

Combine all tartare ingredients (except the lemon juice) together, an hour or 2 before serving. Taste and season well.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until almost ready to serve.

Just before serving, add the lemon juice, stir through and season well to taste.

Serve with small toasts made from a good quality sourdough baguette. Slice bread thinly. Let the garlic cloves sit in the olive oil for 10 minutes. Spray or brush the bread with the oil. Cook in a preheated 200C (400F) oven for 10 mins or until golden brown. Allow to cool to room temperature. Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

Put the tartare in a small bowl (with a teaspoon for serving) and surround with the golden toasted baguette slices.

Serves 10….with champagne

Here are the links to the other beautiful #LetsLunch posts:

Cheryl’s Cheddar Pecan Crisps: Bubbly Friendly Bits at Tiger in the Kitchen

Caitlin‘s Gruyere Lace Cookies at Caitlin Shetterly

Charissa‘s Bacon, Apple & Swiss Quiche at Zest Bakery

Ellise‘s Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Palmiers at Cowgirl Chef

Emma‘s Cold-Cured Salmon Bites at Dreaming of Pots and Pans

Linda‘s Cheese Straw Crackers at Free Range Cookies

Maria‘s Parmesan Toasts at The Bubbly Girl

Rashda‘s Samosa-Shingara Pies at Hot Curries & Cold Beer

Steff‘s Stuffed Figs, Parmesan Crackers & Spicy Cheesy Pecans atThe Kitchen Trials

Eleanor’s Summer Snacks at Be a Wok Star

Karen’s Parmesan Cups at GeoFooding