Josie
The writer, cook and photographer behind Your Ultimate Menu
Ingredients
Pastry Croutons
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, defrosted (150g)
- 1 Tbsp milk
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan (23g)
Salad
- 70g Mediterranean or baby rocket (2.5oz)
- 1 Lebanese cucumber (or ½ telegraph cucumber)
- 1 avocado
- 200g smoked salmon slices or pieces (7oz)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
- ¼ cup finely grated parmesan (23g)
Asparagus
- 1 bunch asparagus (250g / 8.8oz)
- ½ Tbsp olive oil
Instructions
1. Make Pastry Croutons
Preheat oven to 180ºC (360ºF) fan bake and line a large oven tray with baking paper. Brush pastry sheet with milk and cut into approximately 2cm / 0.8in squares. Arrange on prepared tray, sprinkle with parmesan and season with a little black pepper. Bake for 10 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
2. Prepare Salad
Meanwhile, divide rocket between individual serving plates. Dice cucumber and avocado and arrange on top of rocket. Add salmon.
3. Prepare Dressing
Place oil, lemon juice, sugar and mustard in a small jar and shake to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Cook Asparagus
Trim woody ends off asparagus. Heat oil in a large frying pan on medium-high. Cook asparagus until tender (3-4 minutes). Season with a little salt and pepper and place on plates with salad.
5. Serve
Drizzle salad and asparagus with dressing and sprinkle with parmesan. Top with croutons. Cut any remaining lemon into wedges and serve with salads.
Recipe Notes
- Wine Match: Sparkling wine will go down a treat!
- Gluten-Free Option: Use gluten-free pastry or swap for gluten-free bread (in this case, replace milk with olive oil) – cooking time may be slightly less for bread.
- Ingredient Notes / Swaps: You could use hot smoked salmon if you prefer. Good alternatives to salmon: cooked garlic prawns, pan fried chorizo, smoked chicken or hot roast chicken. You could use beans instead of asparagus, or omit asparagus and double the quantity of rocket. Feta cheese also makes a delicious addition to this meal!
- Storing and Reheating: Refrigerate individual portions of salad. Store asparagus separately and warm in the microwave, frying pan or oven. Croutons can be kept at room temperature and are best reheated in the oven.
It’s important to have a diet that includes a daily intake of vitamin B2 as it is required for the body’s energy supply and digestion of protein and fats. Salmon contains high concentrations of riboflavin which makes it one of the best sources of vitamin B2.
To learn more about the benefits of vitamin B2, we suggest checking Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin).
A bit more about the master chef behind this recipe…
Cooking, baking and creating recipes have always been Josie’s passions. She has a Bachelor of Food Technology and works as a freelance recipe developer, food stylist and photographer.
Josie launched her website, Your Ultimate Menu, as a way to help others solve the dreaded “what’s for dinner?” question. Each week she provides recipes for three easy meals together with an organised shopping list.
Her sister’s recent diagnosis with coeliac disease has inspired Josie to provide gluten-free options for all of her recipes.
Like this recipe? Check out Josie’s website for more cooking inspiration! https://www.yourultimatemenu.com/
