Today I give you the perfect Spring lunch – a thoroughly chic combination of poached salmon, soft boiled eggs, salty anchovy fillets, tender greens and glossy black olives. Sound familiar? That’s right it’s a niçoise, but one with a difference.

Unlike your typical niçoise, this one is deconstructed (so on-trend) presented on a platter, scattered with herbs and served with a little jug of delectable lemon butter sauce on-the-side. It is my mother’s invention, concocted from a range of recipes, and is best served amongst greedy friends with a penchant for grazing and chilled sav blanc.

It’s a winner and made for a most memorable lunch last weekend. Thank you Mum x

Perfectly poached salmon

This is a great method for poaching sexy, succulent salmon. I used the same directions for cooking chicken breasts and had great results.

Ingredients

  • 4 (880g) Tasmanian salmon fillets
  • 1 1/2 cups (375ml) white wine
  • 1 lemon sliced into rounds
  • 3 bay leaves

Method

  • Place salmon fillets, skin side down in a deep frying pan.
  • Add wine and enough cold water to just cover salmon.
  • Add lemon and baby leaves to pan.
  • Bring liquid to just below simmering point and cook at this temperature for 10 minutes.
  • Turn off heat and leave fish submerged in liquid.

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G’s deconstructed niçoise salmon salad

(serves 4)

Ingredients

  • about 12 ounces poached salmon, flaked apart into bite-size pieces
  • handful of small radishes, scrubbed, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
  • handful cherry tomatoes
  • 4 hard boiled eggs quartered lengthwise
  • about 1 pound haricot verts (or thin green beans), trimmed and cooked in salted boiling water for about 3 minutes)
  • about 1 pound tiny potatoes, scrubbed, boiled in salted water for about 15 minutes until tender, and drained
  • 5-6 anchovy fillets
  • handful of Nicoise olives
  • olive oil, lemon juice, chopped fresh herbs
  • flaky sea salt, cracked black pepper

Method

  • Arrange the components in chic lines down a long, wide platter.
  • Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkled with lemon juice, flaky sea salt, cracked black pepper, and chopped fresh herbs (parsley, dill, chives, whatever you wish).

Lemon butter sauce

(adapted from bon appetit)

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 tablespoon grated lemon peel
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
  • 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter (unsalted organic if poss)

Method

  • Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.
  • Add lemon peel and garlic and stir for 1 minute.
  • Add broth and simmer 1 minute.
  • Add butter and allow to melt, about 2 minutes.
  • Season with salt and pepper and serve in a jug.