Me:Mo Cooks… Hot Smoked Salmon And Asparagus Salad

Despite that weird, random moment of snow we had at the beginning of April, spring has well and truly sprung, bringing the brilliant asparagus back onto our tables. There’s something so satisfying about eating seasonal, British produce and we really are spoilt as each season changes and different fruit and veg get their moment to shine yet again. Nice one Mother Nature – you really are wonderful.

Anyway, here’s the Queen of baking with something a little different: Mary Berry’s Hot Smoked Salmon & Asparagus recipe taken from her latest cookbook – Simple Comforts, it’s one of our favourites.

Serves 4-6

400g asparagus spears, trimmed

4 large eggs

1 ripe avocado, peeled and thinly sliced

Juice of ½ lemon

150g hot smoked salmon

2 Little Gem lettuces, broken into pieces

Handful of lamb’s lettuce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE FENNEL MUSTARD DRESSING

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp grainy mustard

2 tbsp white wine vinegar

8 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp runny honey

1 small fennel bulb, core removed, very thinly sliced

Method

1. Cook the asparagus in a pan of boiling salted water for 3-4 minutes, according to the size of the spears. Drain them and run under cold water to set the colour and stop the cooking, then dry well on kitchen paper. Slice the stems into rounds and keep the tips whole.

2. Put the eggs into a saucepan of cold water, bring to the boil and boil for 8 minutes. Drain and run the eggs under cold water. Peel the eggs and slice each one into quarters. Toss the slices of avocado in lemon juice.

3. Gently break the salmon into small pieces. Break the leaves from the lettuces into bite-sized pieces. Scatter the lettuce and lamb’s lettuce into a large wide bowl. Arrange the asparagus over them, place the egg quarters evenly on top and scatter over the salmon, seasoning each layer with salt and pepper.

4. Measure all the dressing ingredients into a bowl. Whisk until combined and season with salt and pepper. Add the fennel and stir to coat.

5. When ready to serve, pour half the dressing over the salad and toss very gently. Serve the rest of the dressing in a small jug.

Now how about something sweet for afters? It is a salad after all, and life’s all about finding that balance! Try one of our other recent Me:Mo Cooks spring recipes, like our Bostock recipe best served with seasonal spring fruit.

Contact us today to talk about our latest news, our asparagus recipe and everything in between.