Smoked Salmon Watercress And Daikon Salad With Ginger Vinaigrette Recipes

SMOKED SALMON TIMBALE WITH GINGER, CUCUMBER, CREME FRAICHE AND WATERCRESS OIL

Steps:

• Bring a small pot of salty water to boil. Blanch the watercress until the stems are very soft to the touch. Shock in ice water. Remove watercress from the shocking bath. Squeeze as much water out of the watercress by hand, and then by wrapping up in a kitchen towel. Chop the watercress as finely as possible by hand. Place the chopped watercress in a blender, and slowly add the canola oil. Remove the watercress oil from the blender and refrigerate.
• Combine the smoked salmon, shallots, ginger, chives, cucumber and Ginger Vinaigrette in a mixing bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place a mold of your choice on the plate of your choice, and pack 2 ounces of the smoked salmon mixture into the mold. Top with 1 tablespoon of the creme fraiche. Garnish, if so desired, with 1 teaspoon of the optional caviar. Repeat 3 times. Garnish each plate with a few decorative squiggles of the watercress oil.
• Place the ginger and canola oil in a small pot. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from heat and let stand 12 hours. Strain the oil through a cheesecloth lined strainer. (The ginger oil may be kept in the refrigerator for 3 months.) Combine the ginger oil with as much vinegar and mix well.

WATERCRESS AND SMOKED SALMON SALAD WITH CREAMY CUCUMBERS

Steps:

• Peel alternating strips from the cucumber, leaving some peel to create stripes, and slice into thin rounds. In a large bowl, combine the vinegar, sugar and some salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil, then 2 tablespoons of the dill. Add the cucumbers and toss. Combine the creme fraiche, horseradish, mustard, lemon juice and the remaining 2 tablespoons dill in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the cucumbers from the vinaigrette and mound on a large platter. Dip the leaf ends of the watercress in the remaining vinaigrette and mound on the platter. Toss the tomatoes in the vinaigrette, remove with a slotted spoon and mound on the platter. Lay the salmon over the mounds. Spoon the creme fraiche dressing over the top. Garnish the platter with lemon wedges and serve immediately.

SMOKED SALMON, WATERCRESS, AND DAIKON SALAD WITH GINGER VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Grate the gingerroot into a fine sieve set over a bowl, press on the pulp to extract 2 teaspoons of the juice, and discard the pulp. To the bowl add the vinegar, the oil, the sugar, and salt and pepper to taste and whisk the dressing until it is emulsified. Divide the watercress among 4 salad plates and arrange some of the daikon rounds down the center of each plate. Roll the salmon into 8 rosettes, arrange 2 rosettes on each plate, and drizzle the dressing over the salads.