Salmon and crème fraîche shots topped with watercress purée and pickled cucumber

Ingredients

• 300 g of salmon fillet
• 150 g of crème fraîche
• 150 g of watercress, roughly chopped
• 2 lemons, 1 juiced, 1 sliced
• 50 g of Japanese pickled cucumber, (ao kyuuri)
• 1 bunch of dill, finely chopped
• olive oil
• black pepper
• salt

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4

2. 2

   To begin, take your salmon fillets and lay them on some foil, approximately 25cm square. Drizzle with some of the olive oil and season liberally with the salt and pepper then place a few lemon slices on top

3. 3

   Wrap the foil around the fish to create a bag that is sealed at the edges and place in the oven for 12–15 minutes, or until the salmon is just cooked through

4. 4

   Take out the salmon and leave it to cool, then flake into a bowl using a fork. Mix in 100g of the crème fraîche and stir in the dill. Finely chop half of the pickled cucumber and add to the bowl, along with a dash of lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour

5. 5

   For the watercress purée, bring a saucepan of salted water to the boil and add the watercress. Cover and bring to the boil again (this should take about 1 minute maximum) then drain and plunge the leaves into a bowl of iced water

6. 6

   Drain the watercress again, reserving just a couple of tablespoons of the water, then place in a blender and blitz to a purée. Use the leftover water to thin the purée if necessary and season with salt and pepper

7. 7

   To serve, divide the salmon between glasses then top with a layer of the watercress purée. Finish by dotting some of the remaining crème fraîche in the centre and add half a slice of pickled cucumber to each glass