Tag Archives: traditional smoked salmon

You can’t make a smoked salmon omelette without breaking eggs

Smoked salmon omlettes: easy to make, healthy and really tasty.
Smoked salmon omlettes: easy to make, healthy and really tasty.

 

Kale, the vitamin-rich and supremely healthy vegetable, has been featuring quite heavily in conversations of late, which is why a smoked salmon and kale soufflé omelette recipe that we recently discovered online caught our eye.

And inadvertently, it became the inspiration for this blog.

No, not a blog on kale, but a blog on our favourite three smoked salmon omelette recipes as selected by three member of the John Ross Jr team.

And whilst smoked salmon, in our opinion, is best served uncooked, there’s no denying that its inclusion as an ingredient in a hot dish can, well, make the dish. And omelettes are no exception.

So, first up, is the smoked salmon and cream cheese omelette, which proves that you can take the cream cheese and smoked salmon out of the sandwich, but you can’t take it out of the hearts and minds of foodies who absolutely love this traditional combination.

 

Smoked salmon and cream cheese omelette

Serves 2

Whether it’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner, this omelette is a smoked salmon winner.

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs (large)
  • A small knob of butter
  • 90g cream cheese
  • 150g of John Ross Jr’s Traditional Smoked Salmon (we recommend the 200g pack)
  • A small handful of chives (chopped)

Method

Use two egg whites and beat them until foamy and airy. Then crack the third egg and, using both the egg and the yolk, mix with the remaining two yolks. Fold in the whites of the two eggs. Once mixed, pour the mixture into a hot (and buttered) pan and cook until your preferred texture.

Take off the heat, place on a plate and spoon on the cream cheese before layering on the smoked salmon on one half of the omelette. Sprinkle the chives on top before folding and serving.

Smoked salmon and courgette omelette

Serves 2

You can always rely on Delicious magazine to provide tasty and easy to make recipes. We’ve taken theirs and made it our own using our Tea Smoked Salmon with Lapsang Souchong Tea.

Ingredients

  • 4 eggs (large)
  • 1 courgette (grated)
  • A small knob of butter
  • 100g John Ross Jr Tea Smoked Salmon (chopped into 1 inch squares)
  • Small handful of fresh chives (chopped)

Method

Beat the eggs together and add 75 per cent of the chopped chives. Heat a pan and add the butter before pouring in the egg mixture, ensuring that it’s evenly spread. After a couple of minutes add the courgette. When it’s starting to set add the Tea Smoked Salmon pieces. When it’s to your preferred texture, fold and place on a plate to serve. Repeat the process with the remaining mixture/ingredients. When both are ready, use the remaining chives to garnish each plate.

 

Smoked salmon and goats cheese omelette

Serves 2

This is a case of saving the best until last – and this omelette really is a cut above.

Ingredients

  • 3 eggs
  • Small handful of flat-leaf parsley (shredded)
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • A knob of butter (large)
  • 100g Traditional Smoked Salmon
  • 40g British goat’s cheese (crumbled or chopped into small pieces)

Mix the eggs in a bowl. Add the parsley to the mixture. Pour in the mixture to a large pan and leave to cook. When setting, add the cheese and just before it’s cooked to your preferred texture add the smoked salmon slices on one half of the omelette. Then fold, take out of the pan, cut into two and place each half on a separate plate.

We love omelettes. Do you? If so, share your favourite recipe with us via our Facebook Page or Tweet them to @JRJsmokedsalmon.

A slice of the smoked salmon pie

John Ross Jr celebrates Pie Week with its own choice of smoked salmon pie recipes
John Ross Jr celebrates Pie Week with its own choice of smoked salmon pie recipes

 

Our blog has touched on a number of typically British ‘things’ over the years. From picnics and Wimbledon through to traditionally British foods and recipes, we’ve aimed to celebrate a selection of those things that make us proud to be, well, British.

 

However one element that we have NEVER touched on is up there as being as British as it gets – the pie.

 

And with British Pie Week around the corner (7 – 13 March) we thought it wouldn’t do any harm to celebrate the humble pie by making it less humble. And the best way of doing this, we felt, was to give it the John Ross Jr treatment.

 

So, for those looking for a pie with a twist, then this smoked salmon pie recipe will not disappoint, not only in terms of flavour but also down to the fact that it can be made the night before for ease.

 

We’ve also put our recently launched product, the Cajun Pulled Salmon (salmon that has been slowly kiln roasted before being pulled off the fillet and marinated in mild Cajun spices), to the test here and it certainly works, combining traditional smoked salmon flavours with the more adventurous tones of the Cajun spices.

 

Pulled Salmon pie

 

Serves 6

 

Ingredients

 

  • Three packs of John Ross Jr’s Pulled Salmon with Cajun Spices
  • 600g of puff pastry
  • 450ml fish stock
  • 175g short grain rice
  • 75g chopped dill
  • 60g salted butter
  • 1 egg yolk beaten together with a dash of milk
  • 1 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
  • Black pepper
  • Salad to serve with the pie
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 150g baby spinach leaves
  • Two hard boiled eggs

 

Bring the stock to the boil before adding the rice and salt and cooking until ready.

 

In a separate pan, melt the butter and add the lemon juice. Once mixed, add the cooked rice. Lightly wilt the spinach in another pan with butter until you have a cooked spinach texture. Then chop both eggs, mix with the spinach, rice, chopped dill and pepper.

 

Roll out the pastry into a large rectangular shape approx. 40cm x 30cm and cut in two in the middle so that you have two squares of equal size. Take the first square, lay it on a greased tray and spoon out the rice mixture on top of it. On top of that, lay the Pulled Salmon with Cajun Spices in flakes (the product is already flaked, however you may want to break it down into smaller pieces). Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg yolk mixture before taking the second pastry square and placing it on top to seal the pie.

 

Brush the whole pie with the egg yolk mixture, sprinkle with the nutmeg and prick it with a fork before placing in a pre-heated oven, at 220 degrees Celsius, and cooking for 25 minutes.

 

Will you be cooking a pie for British Pie Week? If so, we want to hear about it. Send in your pie pics via our Facebook Page or Tweet them to @JRJsmokedsalmon.

Smoked salmon for mum this Mother’s Day?

Make mum breakfast in bed this Mother's Day using John Ross Jr's smoked salmon breakfast recipe.
Make mum breakfast in bed this Mother’s Day using John Ross Jr’s smoked salmon breakfast recipe.

Mother’s Day doesn’t have to be an extravagant affair. In fact, most mums will tell you that it’s the small gestures that count, which is why we’ve created the perfect Mother’s Day menu – and a full three courses, no less.

 

Now, we’re not suggesting – or recommending – that you do all three. Even the most dedicated of sons and daughters may find that a bridge too far, however if you have the opportunity to do one, then we’ve provided you with three tasty options to choose from.

 

We would be very surprised (and flattered) if anyone below 18 years of age is reading this – but dads, those who are responsible for making sure Mother’s Day morning goes smoothly and that mum feels suitably indulged – are a different matter.

 

So, to all the dads out there, the breakfast option is for you.

 

Breakfast

 

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, Jamie Oliver never fails to amaze and his Irish Potato Cakes with Smoked Salmon recipe does not disappoint. Yes, it’s a bit more ‘involved’ than other breakfast recipes out there but as you’re in control, dad, we’re confident that it’s achievable – even if it is before 9am.

 

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

 

200g John Ross Jr Traditional Smoked Salmon (from Waitrose or via our shopping page)

40g plain flour

125g boiled or baked potatoes

1 large free-range egg

¼ bunch of chives, chopped

1 teaspoon of horseradish sauce

2 tablespoons crème fraîche

½ lemon

Olive oil (on hand)

Half a handful of watercress

 

How it’s done

 

Mash the potatoes. Beat the egg yolk then add, with the chopped chives, to the potatoes along with the plain flour and mix. Knead until ‘douhgy’ and then, on a floured worktop, roll out to between ½ cm and ¾ think.

 

Divide the rolled potato mixture into two sections and chill (that’s the mixture, not you).

 

Mix together the horseradish, crème fraîche, a big squeeze of the fresh lemon juice, pepper, a small glug of olive oil and a pinch of salt (if required).

 

Heat a frying pan (or griddle if you have one) and, once hot, cook the two cakes for between three and five minutes – or until cooked through.

 

Serve with John Ross Jr smoked salmon, the dressing you’ve made and garnish with the watercress.

 

Lunch

 

Now for the the ‘grown-ups’. If you’re hosting mum, or even cooking at her place, then this smoked salmon quiche is tasty, yet not too tricky. Even if you’re not serving eight people, which this recipe caters for, there will be plenty left over for mum to enjoy the following day.

 

Ingredients

 

200g John Ross Jr Traditional Smoked Salmon (chopped)

100g smoked bacon, cooked and chopped

100g cooked potatoes (cubed)

180ml crème fraîche

3 x eggs

1 x tablespoon chopped, fresh dill

1 x tablespoon grated nutmeg

salt and pepper (to taste)

Salad (of your choice) to serve

1 egg (beaten)

225g short crust pastry

 

How it’s done

 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Roll out the pastry so that it fits in a 10-inch loose-bottomed tin. Grease the pastry tin and line it with the rolled pastry. Cook for approx. 20 minutes then remove from the oven before brushing the pastry with the beaten egg. Cook again until Golden brown and then take out.

 

Spread the smoked salmon, potatoes and cooked bacon around the base of the pastry so that the area’s covered. Then beat the eggs, dill, crème fraîche and nutmeg until evenly mixed before pouring over the pastry and its contents. Cook for around half an hour before taking out leaving to cool. Once cool enough, serve with a slice of lemon and the salad.

 

Dinner

 

This final dish is simply superb. Unlike the other two, it requires fresh salmon and smoked salmon. And, whilst the Spanish only celebrate Mother’s Day in May, this baked salmon with chorizo rice recipe provides what is arguably the country’s most well known flavour.
Serves 4

 

Ingredients

 

John Ross Jr’s fresh salmon fillet (whilst we don’t offer individual pieces, our side will cover this dish and leave you with the same amount for another day)

200g John Ross Jr Traditional Smoked Salmon

100g chorizo

1 x onion (finely chopped)

2 x garlic cloves (finely chopped)

200g risotto rice

4 x plum tomatoes, chopped

50g salted butter

1 x tablespoon of parsley, chopped

500ml good quality chicken stock

1 x lemon

Salt and pepper (to taste)

 

How it’s done

 

Preheat an oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

 

Then, in a frying pan, fry the chorizo until crisp. Once cooked, set aside. In the oil generated by the chorizo, fry the onion and garlic until soft.

 

Add the chorizo, onion, rice, garlic, tomatoes, butter and chopped parsley to a casserole dish, making sure that it’s well oiled in order to avoid any burning/sticking. Pour in the chicken stock, place the lid on top and stick in the oven. Check after about 20 minutes and if the rice is cooked, then it’s ready.
Take the four fillets (or however many you’ve chopped from the fillet) and wrap with the slices of smoked salmon. In the same oven, roast the salmon for about 20 minutes so that it coincides with the cooking of the rice. Then, serve up the rice on each plate and carefully place a fillet on each portion.

 

Regardless of the recipes you choose, mum will love it. All that remains for us to say is have a wonderful day.

 

What are you up to for Mother’s Day? If it involves food then we’d love to hear about it via our Facebook Page or you can Tweet us at @JRJsmokedsalmon.

Last minute Valentine’s Day meal

 

John Ross Jr's smoked salmon hearts - ideal for that perfect Valentine's Day meal
John Ross Jr’s smoked salmon hearts – ideal for that perfect Valentine’s Day meal

 

 

National (and international) awareness days are like buses. For example, Pancake Day isn’t even over and we’re already looking ahead to Valentine’s Day which, for many, is that one time of the year when couples cannot avoid the urge to be romantic.

 

The BIG decision, then, is whether you’re eating out or eating in. If you’re eating out then this will be of little use to you. If, on the other hand, you’re thinking of staying at home for a night of wining and dining then read on.

 

Making that perfect meal for your partner, particularly on a night where your culinary skills are going to be in the spotlight, is crucial for two reasons: a) you want them to enjoy it and be suitably impressed, and b) it needs to be simple enough so that you’re not spending all night in the kitchen.

 

And this is why we’ve come up with the perfect last minute, easy to prepare and suitably impressive Valentine’s Day menu for two.

 

To start

 

Traditional Smoked Salmon with Tiger Prawns with a horseradish cream and lime finish

 

Even the title sounds impressive – and the dish itself doesn’t disappoint. And, with a preparation time of less than 20 minutes it really couldn’t be any easier.

 

Ingredients

100g John Ross Jr’s Traditional Smoked Salmon

8 – 12 king prawns (cooked)

1 tablespoon crème fraiche

½ tablespoon horseradish

1 lime (juice and zest, stores separately)

1 teaspoon maple syrup

Handful of salad

2 tablespoons of olive oil

 

Method

In a bowl mix the horseradish and crème fraiche. Add seasoning to taste. In a separate bowl mix the lime juice, zest, maple syrup and oil. Take the smoked salmon and lay it on two plates before placing half the prawns on top. Follow up with a dollop of horseradish cream, add the salad and drizzle over the dressing.

 

For main

 

Ribeye Steak with handcut chips

 

Steak, when cooked well, can win over the heart of almost anyone. It’s a no nonsense meal with a universal appeal, which is why we think you’ll like this.

 

Ingredients

 

2 generous ribeye steaks, season with sea salt and cracked black pepper

50g salted butter

1 lemon (juice and zest)

Olive oil

2 handfuls of salad (mixed)

425g Maris Piper potatoes, chopped into chunky chips

1-2 garlic cloves (crushed)

Small bunch of parsley (chopped)

 

Slightly soften the butter before mashing in the chopped parsley. Add a dash of lemon juice and season to taste. Take the chips and place on a baking tray before tossing with two tablespoons of olive oil and the crushed garlic. Cook for approximately 30 minutes until golden.

 

For the steak, add two tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. When really hot, add the steaks and fry for three minutes on each side (or slightly more if you’ve gone for a very generous steak!). Once cooked, place each steak on a serving plate for one minute prior to serving, add a dollop of the parsley butter on each steak, plate the chips, add the salad and enjoy.

 

For dessert

 

Caribbean Creams

 

Thanks to Nigella for this delicious recipe and for providing a taste of the Caribbean when February in the UK is likely to be anything but tropical. Click here to view the recipe and remember to half the ingredients as Nigella’s recipe is based on four people.

 

And, if you’re looking for something even more straightforward, then our smoked salmon hearts are guaranteed to put a smile on your partner’s face. All you need is enough smoked salmon for two, cream cheese, bread, chives and a heart-shaped cookie cutter. Simply spread two slices of bread with cream cheese, lay the smoked salmon on top, cut out the heart shape with the cookie cutter and garnish with chives.

 

Let us know if this has been of use – or if you’ve even used the entire three-course meal suggestion – via our Facebook Page.

 

Healthy packed lunches that pack a punch

salmon&rocketwrapHealthy packed lunches that pack a punch

The loveable and inimitable Jamie Oliver is back and this time he’s waging war on sugar. And with good reason, too, following evidence that suggests how sugar – and not necessarily fat – is ‘the enemy’ and the true cause of obesity.

In support of his new TV programme, we thought we’d explore healthy packed lunch options in order to help you say ‘so long’ to sugar and ‘good day’ to good (and tasty) food.

If you’re responsible for making packed lunches, whether it’s for you at work or your children at school, then you’ll probably agree that it’s all too easy to pick the processed option such as crisps, biscuits and chocolate – if only for the fact that they’re pre-packed and easy to throw in to any lunch box.

Whilst these two options might not be as easy to prepare, we think they’re tastier. They’re certainly healthier than your standard cheese sarnie, too!

So, if you’re in need of a little inspiration when it comes to healthy packed lunches then this might just be for you.

Lunch option 1

Smoked salmon, lentil and rocket salad

Prior to the days of pre-cooked lentils and pulses, a lentil-based dish wouldn’t have been an easy option. Now, they’re available straight out the packet and ready to eat.
You can even make this the night before to save time in the morning.

  • 170g lentils of your choice (we’d suggest Puy)
  • 2 x limes (juice and zest)
  • 3x teaspoons of olive oil
  • Small bunch of chopped dill
  • 100g Traditional Smoked Salmon, cut into 3cm squares
  • Small bunch of rocket leaves

Mix the oil, juice, zest, dill and lentils in a bowl (or straight in your lunchbox if preferred). Lay on the smoked salmon and the rocket leaves. If you’re eating it immediately then stir together and enjoy. If you’re eating it the day after then place the lid on top and stir just before eating.

Lunch option 2

Healthy smoked salmon and avocado wraps

  • 1 x wholemeal wheat wrap
  • 100g John Ross Jr smoked salmon
  • 1 x avocado
  • 1 x tablespoon crème fraiche
  • Chopped dill (to taste)
  • 1 x tablespoon wholegrain mustard
  • 1 x small carrot (shredded)
  • 1 x handful of watercress
  • 1 x teaspoon lemon juice

Again, this is perfect to make the night before so that all you need to do in the morning is reach into the fridge and pack it.

Mix together the dill, crème fraiche, dill, avocado and lemon juice to a consistency similar to guacamole. Spread the mixture across the wrap, making sure the whole wrap is covered. Layer the smoked salmon on the wrap before topping with the grated carrot and watercress leaves. Roll, halve and eat (or wrap in foil for the day after).