Bringing the Moveable Feast Home

Dining on board the Venice Simplon Orient-Express and its sister trains, the British Pullman and Northern Belle, is an experience like no other. Gourmet cuisine and elegant surroundings make for an unforgettable experience. Matthew Smith, Executive Chef of the British Pullman and Northern Belle, combines true elegance and luxury to produce splendid meals which are served up from an on-board kitchen that is barely larger than a cupboard!

And now Matthew Smith has hand-picked some of his recipes from the British Pullman so that anyone can enjoy a gourmet dining experience at home.

In preparation for my upcoming journey on the British Pullman I decided to try my hand at some of Chef Smith’s recipes – and to adapt them for Thermomix, of course!

For my first British Pullman recipe I tried Matthew’s pepper-crusted salmon fillets and made a fabulous crust with various peppercorns and some Demerara sugar with Penja Pepper from Terre Exotique. The dish combines fiery peppercorns with a bit of sweetness to offset the fatty salmon. The celery in the salsa adds another dimension to a classic tomato/basil/onion flavour, and provides a lovely freshness to the dish.

We served this with a 2009 Rosé des Riceys by René Bauser, a brisk pinot noir rosé from the Champagne/Burgundy border and had a fabulous meal.

Matthew Smith‘s Salmon Fillets Incrusted with Peppers, Tomato and Basil Salsa
Adapted for Thermomix by Madame Thermomix. As in the original recipe, serves 4.

Ingredients

For the Salsa
5 vine tomatoes
½ a red onion
½ a bunch of basil
1 lime zest
2 sticks of celery
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil

For the Crust
2 tbsp mixed coloured peppercorns, crushed
2 tbsp Demerara sugar
½ bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped by dropping on the running blades

4 x 160 g Salmon Fillets, skin on

Method

Salsa
Make the Salsa in advance so the flavours will develop.

1. Peel, de-seed and dice the tomatoes. Place in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Peel the skin off the lime, making sure not to take any of the white pith. Place in the Thermomix bowl and grind at Speed 9 or 10 until fine.
3. Drop the onion, celery and basil onto the running blades at Speed 7 and immediately turn off. Scrape the sides of the bowl and chop a few more seconds if required.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar and olive oil and mix 5 seconds/Speed 4.
5. Pour sauce over the tomatoes and mix gently; be careful not to turn the salsa to pulp.
6. Cover and leave in the fridge until required.

Crust

For the crust simply mix all the ingredients together.

Salmon

1. Heat a non stick frying pan, when hot place fish skin side down.
2. Cook for 3 -4 minutes season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Turn over and cook for a further 2 -3 minutes.
4. Carefully spoon the crust on top.

To Serve

Place the salmon crust side up on a plate. Sprinkle salsa around the fish and serve with new potatoes.

Bon appétit !

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