Sumac salmon with radicchio, persimmon, parsley

More sumac please! It’s my favorite spice for a reason and it’s the only sour tasting spice in the world. This dish has tons of sour-ness from sumac pickled onions and sumac and chilli marinated salmon.

The balance the sour, a beetroot puree is on the base of the plate, so there’s a sweet-ish cream to add to every bite.

A light salad from bitter radicchio leaves and semi-sweet persimmon pair nicely with the components of this dish to act like a cleanser and refresh the palate. I always need something cold and crunchy to go along with warm food!

Serves two, makes extra beetroot puree (about 1.5 cups) and pickled onions.

Ingredients:

Quick-pickled red onions:

1 red onion, sliced super thin

1 tsp sumac

60g rice wine vinegar

60g water

1 tsp honey

Sumac salmon (per one piece, double if you want two pieces):

1 salmon fillet

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp everything but the bagel seasoning

1/2 tsp sumac

1/2 tsp chilli powder

pinch of salt + fresh cracked black pepper

Beetroot puree:

200g cooked beetroot

225g cream cheese

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1 lime

pinch of salt

water to thin, one splash at a time, if needed

Raddichio, persimmon, parsley salad:

few raddichio leaves, torn roughly

1 persimmon (buy one that’s not very soft!), sliced into thin rounds

handful of parsley leaves, torn roughly

2 tsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt

Method:

Marinate the salmon: coat the salmon with olive oil on both sides then add the seasonings and coat evenly. Leave off to the side to marinate.

Pickle the red onions: in a small pot, bring vinegar, water and honey to a boil and remove from heat. Add red onions to a heat-proof bowl and pour the hot vinegar over top. Toss to evenly coat and leave off to the side to pickle.

Mascerate the persimmon: to a large mixing bowl, dress persimmon with red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Toss gently to coat them evenly and leave off to the side to soften.

Make the beetroot puree: to a high-speed blender, add beetroot, cream cheese, lime juice, salt and olive oil and blend until perfectly smooth and pink. Add a splash of water to thin if you need it to blend more smoothly.

Toss the salad: add parsley and radicchio and toss gently using your hand to coat everything in the persimmon dressing. Add a pinch of salt and toss gently.

Assemble: add 2 spoonfuls of beetroot puree to the center of the plate and smooth around in circles to create a base. Add salmon off-centered, then a big pinch of the radicchio salad to the side and pickled onions on top. Enjoy!

Keep the pickled onions and beetroot puree in the fridge.