A Perfect Bite With Champagne from the Monday Morning Cooking Club
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 Champagne or any pre-dinner drink is salmon tartare on little toasts. Light, summery, tangy, easy to make and to serve, the only challenges being to find really fresh salmon and the best quality bread for the toast.
Everything (except a final lemoning and seasoning) is do-ahead, so there is no last minute rushing around before the visitors arrive.
Salmon Tartare
Ingredients
the tartare
- 1 kg sashimi grade raw salmon diced
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard or to taste
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise best quality
- 1/3 cup finely chopped chives
- 1/3 cup baby capers chopped
- 1/3 cup finely chopped cornichons
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 lemons juiced, or to taste
- 1/2 tspn sea salt ,or to taste
- 1/4 tspn freshly ground black pepper
the toast
- 1 sourdough baguette thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves bruised
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Serves 10….with champagne