Chef Simon Boyle is an active advocate of bringing people together and nourishing relationships over great food. His culinary philosophy revolves around simple, well-sourced ingredients, put together to create a unique food experience.
Chef Boyle’s London-based restaurant and bistro, The Brigade, focuses on traditional British cookery with a modern twist. It doubles up as a cooking school, which provides opportunities and fresh starts to vulnerable people, keeping in line with the life-saving ethos of the historic Fire Station in which it lies.
A simple yet exquisite brunch option, chef Boyle’s smoked salmon gateau with poached egg and lemon is sure to wow any food loving guests…
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 lemon, juiced and zested
250g fromage blanc
freshly ground black pepper
8 pancakes, pre-cooked
200g oak smoked salmon, sliced
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 fresh eggs
¼ bunch dill
Lemon zest
Dry the lemon zest in the airing cupboard, until it is granular like salt, this should take an hour or so.
Smoked salmon gateau
In a bowl, season the fromage blanc with lemon juice and freshly ground pepper. Lay a pancake onto a plate and spoon 2 tablespoons of the fromage blanc and spread it around evenly with the back of the spoon. Lay a single layer of the smoked salmon from edge to edge, careful not to overlap it.
Repeat until you have layered all the salmon and used all the pancakes, leaving the final one with nothing on the top. Cover with cling film and place a similar sized weight on top (perhaps a pot with the same circumference with a bag of sugar in it). Press for an hour or until you need it.
Poached egg
When you’re ready to serve, bring a small pan of water to the boil, add a splash of white wine vinegar, stir the water and crack in the eggs one by one. Poach until soft, take out and drain.
To serve
Cut a wedge of the salmon gateau and place on a plate. Place an egg next to the gateau and season with the dried lemon zest and picked dill leaves.