Romantic Dinner Step 1: Salmon Temaki

When planning a romantic dinner, in my opinion, you need to make sure of the following:

You don’t make this every other day.

It looks fancy and yummy but it really isn’t that difficult to make.

It’s best to be able to make at least 2 out of 3 courses in advance. You want to spend your evening in the dining room, not in the kitchen.

The other guest at the table also likes whatever he/she’s going to be served.

Anything goes with champagne!

So my starter was just that: easy to make, though it looks complicated, light, elegant and above all, YUM!

What you need to know (that I didn’t) is that you make sure to buy as whole slices of salmon as you can find. If you can, go buy it and have the person selling it cut it into as robust (but fine at the same time) slices as possible, if not try to buy a package where the fish looks as whole as possible. You need slices, but you need your slices to stay together and not shred (like mine almost did).

So, you’ll need: smoked salmon – about 60 grams for 2 people as a starter – (see above), 100 mls of creme fraiche (or sour cream I suspect works well too), fresh dill, 1 lemon, freshly ground pepper, one avocado (be careful, not too ripe!).

The recipe comes from Table for Two, French Recipes for Romantic Dining – a book that I really like because it has great recipes for all seasons, labeled accordingly.

The method is quite simple: you separate (carefully!) the salmon slices. You-ll need a few pieces of plastic wrap prepared, about the size of your slices. Also, prepare your avcado – my luck was that I had two on hand, because one of them was waaay too ripe although it looked fine in the store. It was ugly and full of spots, you don’t need that. You need an “almost there” avocado, firm enough to be cut into slices. Cut the avocado in half, take the pit out and with a spoon, carefully remove the flesh from the skin without ruining its shape. Then, cut it in thin slices. In my opinion, if you have an avocado you had bought for guacamole but it’s not ripe enough…it’s exactly what you need for this recipe. You need to lay one salmon slice at a time on the plastic wrap (or, if you’re into sushi, maybe you have those special rolling mats – I don’t). Spread a teaspoon of creme fraiche on top, trying not to put too much as it will burst when you roll it. In the middle, put one or two avocado slices and a sprig of dill. Squeeze lemon juice over it and sprinkle some pepper. Now, we’re ready to roll. Carefully roll the salmon slice with the help of your plastic wrap. Then, use the same plastic wrap to…uhm…wrap the temaki tightly and make sure you’ve closed both ends. Repeat with all other salmon slices. Put them in the refrigerator for about one hour or until ready to serve.

When serving time comes, unwrap your temaki and, with the help of a serrated knife, cut it in 2 or 3 equal pieces. This sounds harder than it actually is. If your knife is sharp enough and the salmon have been in the fridge for enough time you’ll be just fine. Serve them on a plate standing, with some crackers or toast on the side. I had forgotten to buy toast

So there you have it: one of the easiest and yummiest starters I’ve ever made.

Stay tuned for the rest of the romantic dinner!