Ingredients
Serves two:
- 300 g peeled firm potatoes
- pepper, salt
- 3 tbsp spearmint leaves
- 200 g sliced smoked salmon
- (= approx. 6 slices)
- butter
Salad:
- piece of pointed cabbage without the stalk
- walnut oil, lemon juice
- pepper, salt
- half a red onion
- sprigs of mint
When mentioning mint in the kitchen, we are talking about spearmint (Mentha spicata). According to Greek mythology, the plant was named after the nymph ‘Minthe’, a lover of the god Pluto, who was transformed into this plant by his wife Persephone out of revenge. Classical Greeks were not at all chaste, so it is strange that they did not eat the leaves. Romans did, and that is how we came up with the idea here as well. Gheraert Vorselman repeatedly mentions ‘munte’ in his Coock Boeck (1593), which relies heavily on the Italian Platina. After that, the herb fell into oblivion. Until Moroccan teas. Here is a new application. As seductive as Minthe!
- Boil potato slices in plenty of water.
- Wash and finely chop the cabbage, mix with oil, lemon juice, pepper, and salt to taste. Cut the red onion into very thin rings.
- Drain the potatoes in a sieve and let them drain well. Press through a potato ricer over a bowl or mash finely. Mix with crème fraîche, pepper, salt, and finely chopped mint leaves.
- Place the salmon on a work surface. Spread the puree over the slices. Fold the salmon around it.
- Melt some butter in a frying pan. Place the salmon rolls along the edge, the lettuce in the middle, and the thin rings of red onion on top. Briefly heat everything through without a lid. Garnish with sprigs of mint.
Wine: Chablis or Macon Chardonnay.
Menu suggestion:
- Starter: fish stock with shrimp and breadsticks. Lightly thicken 350 ml fish stock with a smooth paste of 2 teaspoons cornstarch and water. Warm a handful of cooked shrimp in it. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley. Place a small bowl of breadsticks on the table.
- Dessert: cinnamon custard. Soak 2 sheets of gelatin in cold water; heat 50 ml of 250 ml vanilla custard with half a dessert spoon of ground cinnamon to the boiling point. Remove from the heat and dissolve the squeezed gelatin in it. Stir in the rest of the custard. Let it thicken in the refrigerator; whip 100 ml whipping cream stiff with sugar. Fold into the thickened custard, leaving two tablespoons. Let it set in coupes. Place a dollop of whipped cream on top, topped with a touch of cinnamon.
