Intro by La (recipes & photography by Sam Linsell)

A blog that I really enjoy and get recipe inspiration from is Drizzle & Dip by Sam Linsell. Sam is fellow South African living in Cape Town with an absolute passion for beautiful, delicious food. It’s a combination of this, her fabulous photography together with many of her dishes having South African inspiration that they resonate with me and make me want to cook / bake up a storm!

I’ve handpicked a few of my favourites for Valentine’s Day…

- beetroot salmon gravadlax – for a little romantic canapé or even better, served as a romantic breakfast…
- Followed by a couple of her delicious desserts for those sweet tooth lovers…
  – pink swirl meringues with pomegranate syrup
  – Valentine’s baked stout chocolate doughnuts with a chocolate glaze

beetroot salmon gravadlax

light and healthy –

Recipe Beetroot salmon gravadlax

2 x aprox 500g salmon or trout fillets (pin boned and skin on) – total 1 kg
80g good quality sea salt flakes
100g muscavado sugar
20g dill
zest of an orange
zest of a lemon
6 juniper berries
3 medium beetroot, grated
lemon or lime wedges to serve

To make the gravadlax (in advance):

Chop the dill (fairly finely) and bash the juniper berries in a pestle and mortar with a little of the salt. Combine this with all the other cure ingredients (except the beetroot).

You can grate the beetroot, but Sam prefers to use her Breville food processor which takes less than a minute to do.

Spread a double layer of cling film over a tray with sides or oven dish big enough to hold the length of the salmon / trout. Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the salt and sugar cure over the bottom. Add a small handful of the grated beetroot and then place one of the salmon fillets skin side down on top. Spread most of the remaining cure over the surface of the salmon fillet. Top with most of the remaining beetroot. Sprinkle the remaining salt cure over the beetroot and then place the second salmon fillet, skin side up on top. The two inside surfaces of the salmon will now be facing each other. If there is any remaining beetroot sprinkle it over the top skin.

Tightly wrap the cling film around the two pieces of fish and continue to wrap it with 3 – 4 more layers. Place a heavy weight on the fish and store in the fridge for 2 – 3 days turning the fish each day and placing the weight on the other side.

When you are ready to eat. Remove the fish and rinse the cure off under the tap. Dry and slice as thinly as possible.

Sam made a light and fluffy chickpea blini to serve this on. You can find the recipe below.

Sam left the fish to cure for 2 or 3 days in the past but it can go even longer. She’s halved the recipe using only one fillet of fish and half the cure ingredients and it worked out well. You can make it with salmon or trout.

Other than serving this as a canape on the chickpea blini – where you add creme fraiche and a sprig of dill for garnish, it makes a wicked breakfast treat. Top a slice of whole grain or multi grain toast with slices of the gravadlax and then top that with soft poached eggs. A sprinkle of sea salt, a grind of black pepper, and a few fresh rocket leaves to finish it off. It’s also delicious on buttered brown bread with salad leaves.

The chickpea blini recipe:

230g self raising flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cumin
½ cup lightly ground chickpeas (about ½ tin)
2 eggs
330ml milk
butter to fry

Grind the drained chickpeas in a food processor until they resemble coarse clumps (this must not be smooth).

Place all dry ingredients in a bowl.

Lightly beat the eggs and milk together and add this to the dry ingredients. Whisk lightly until you have a pancake batter consistency. Add the chickpeas and stir to combine.

Heat a non stick frying pan, add a little butter and when its bubbling, drop a tablespoonful of the batter and allow it to spread a little. As bubbles start forming on the surface, flip them and cook until they are both light golden on both sides.

Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche, a sliver of gravadlax, a spritz of lemon and top with fresh dill.