If you’ve got access to a cold-smoker or smoking gun, here’s a great excuse to bust it out for a creative meal.

Serves: 1 | Prep. time: 1 hour | Cook time: 15 minutes | Dish deets: Gluten free

Ingredients

Ōra King salmon crudo

• 30g Marlborough sea salt
• 30g caster sugar
• 90g Ōra King salmon, skinned

Smoked sesame cream

• 60g crème fraîche
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 tsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Salt, to taste

Chilli maple

• 30ml quality olive oil
• 40ml maple syrup
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp red chilli powder
• Salt, to taste

To serve

• 1 avocado, thinly sliced
• 1 golden baby beetroot, sliced
• 1 corn cob
• Ōra King salmon caviar
• Edamame beans, shelled
• Sunflower and pumpkin seeds, toasted

Garnishes

• Pea feathers
• Coriander edible flowers

making it happen

1. To begin, make the crudo. Mix the salt with the sugar and sprinkle over the salmon in a bowl. Set aside for 20 minutes. 2. Meanwhile, cold-smoke the crème fraîche using a smoker or a smoking gun with apple wood chips. 3. When the cream is smoked, mix with toasted sesame seeds, lemon juice and zest, then season with sea salt. 4. Mix the olive oil, maple syrup, smoked paprika, red chilli powder and salt in a bowl. Whisk until well combined and set aside. 5. After 20 minutes of curing, wash the salmon thoroughly under cold water, pat dry, and cut into small cubes. 6. Thinly slice the avocado and golden baby beetroot using a very sharp knife and chargrill the corn cob. 7. Spread the smoked sesame cream in a circle on a cold plate. Place the salmon, then arrange the avocado slices, charred corn, salmon caviar, edamame beans and golden baby beetroot. Sprinkle with toasted seeds. 8. Garnish with pea feathers and coriander edible flowers.

Chef Kanav Khajuria

“The cuisine I serve is a sub-discipline of food science that seeks to analyse the physical and chemical transformation of ingredients that appear on my plate. I began my culinary journey in India. I gained experience in international hotels such as Marriott and Sheraton. I worked in restaurants and hotels in New Plymouth, Martinborough, Abel Tasman National Park, Lake Tekapo and Christchurch before taking on the chef position at Town Tonic."

Three key ingredients to a tasty dish? Social, artistic and technical.

Get to know Chef Kanav in the full Q&A here.

towntonic.com