The Food I Eat

Passover was a bit of a fiasco in my final year at university.

As the only one with a car, I drove my Jewish housemate to the shops to help him stock up with easy-to-prepare food. It would be fair to say that cooking was not his strong point, so I helped him find some really idiot proof meals: fish fingers, chicken dippers, breaded cod – the sort of thing that he could pop in a medium oven for 10 minutes, and not entirely screw up.

This was all very well until his mother pointed out that all the food I’d helped him buy was covered in breadcrumbs. As in crumbs of BREAD - leavened bread. The poor guy had to go home for the Passover period, as I was (quite rightly) deemed incompetent in helping him cook over Passover.

So far, this blog seems to have continued a theme of pork-based cooking, so when I invited my old flatmate round for some lunch, he said he’d only come if I promised not to cook him scotch eggs (or bacon, sausages, ham…)

I thought I’d take the opportunity to do something really nice to make up for my past incompetence, so decided to make these salmon and avocado parcels. They are a good starter (served with melba toast) a good lunch (with a bagel and horseradish) or a good light supper (with tagliatelle and crème fraiche).

Ingredients
Smoked Salmon
3 avocados
Goat’s cheese (one small supermarket-sized disc)
Juice of 2 limes
Fresh chilli

Line a ramekin dish with cling film…or if you are a hoarder of cooking equipment like I am, then reach for something suitable from your collection (I went for my Demarle muffin tray – any excuse!)

Line the individual holes with smoked salmon, and leave as much extra round the edges - this will form a solid bottom to the parcels once they’ve been filled.

Scoop out the avocado, and mush it up, then pour on the lime juice. Although lemon is better at keeping avocado green, I think that the dish needs lime juice to give it the extra zing, and stop it from verging on the bland side.

Chop up the goat’s cheese, and add it to the mixture along with the chilli – I specifically haven’t put an amount with this, because chillies are such different strengths, it’s just best to do it to your personal taste.

Finally scoop the avocado mixture into the smoked salmon-lined holes and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!