Award-Winning Oak Smoked Irish Organic Salmon
A grazing board is the easy answer to the question, “what do I bring to the garden party”. Build it around a generous side of oak-smoked salmon and surround it with the supporting cast: a couple of Irish farmhouse cheeses, a good loaf of brown soda bread, a bowl of salted butter, some sharp pickles, something fresh, something sweet. It looks like you spent the afternoon on it. It takes twenty minutes. The trick is balance and a big enough board.
Find your biggest flat board or platter. A wooden cake board works if you don't have one.
Place the cheeses and butter in their final positions first, with knives. They anchor the board.
Fold the smoked salmon loosely into ribbons or rosettes and pile in the centre. Resist flattening it. Volume reads better than a single layer.
Cube the soda bread roughly. Arrange around the salmon along with the oatcakes.
Tuck in the figs, olives, cornichons, and lemon halves. Aim for density, not symmetry. Empty space looks like a mistake.
Set small bowls for the capers and honey. Scatter the dill fronds over the salmon. Final crack of black pepper.
