I’m excited to share the first of my Xmas recipes for this year. I love the idea of serving fish on Xmas day. It perfectly captures the lightness and fresh flavour that suits a New Zealand Xmas. This whole roasted side of salmon is an easy way to feed a crowd and is visually stunning.

The salad embraces all that is great about the season: sweetcorn, bright cherry tomatoes, summer herbs and greens from the garden. Use my recipe as a starting point and add in your own favourite ingredients.

Both of these recipes were created for my friends at Nautilus Estate wines. In particular their Southern Valleys Pinot Noir would be lovely with the salmon. It’s a surprising but utterly delicious match and their fabulous Sauvignon Blanc loves herby summer salads.

I’ve got loads more Xmas recipes ahead. Including some irresistible desserts.

Happy cooking! Kelly xo

Herb crusted salmon

Serves 8-10

1 side salmon (between 1.2 - 1.5 kgs)

1 cup panko breadcrumbs (use GF crumbs to make gluten free

1 ½ packed cups fresh herbs (I used parsley and basil)

Zest of 1 lemon

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

Olive oil spray

Preheat to oven to 180 degrees Celsius (or a bit higher if you know that your oven doesn’t run very hot).

Take the salmon from the fridge 30 minutes before you’ll be cooking it.

Place the breadcrumbs, herbs, lemon zest and salt into a food processor. Blitz until the herbs are well chopped.

Lay the salmon skin-down on an oven-proof tray double lined with baking paper. Spoon the breadcrumbs on top. You may not need all the crumb topping (depending on the size of your salmon). Spray liberally with olive oil. Roast for 20 - 25 minutes. Do not overcook!! You really want the salmon to be just-cooked and moist.

Remove from the oven and use the baking paper to carefully transfer to your serving dish. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Serve immediately or allow to cool to room temperature. Serve with dill yoghurt and citrus wedges.

Leftover salmon will last up to 3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Halloumi, corn and radish salad w/ herb dressing

Serves 6 as a side

2 cobs sweet corn – outer husks removed

200g halloumi cheese

2 small cos lettuces – leaves separated and washed

250g cherry tomatoes - halved

4 radishes – sliced very thinly

Oil for frying

Dressing

60mls good quality olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1 small garlic clove – finely diced

1 teaspoon sugar

Large handful fresh basil

Large handful fresh mint leaves

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to season.

To serve: additional fresh herbs to garnish

Use a blender or hand blender to blitz the salad dressing ingredients until smooth. Season well. Set aside until serving time.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully drop the corn into the water and cook for 1 minute. Run under cold water to halt cooking and keep the corn sweet and firm. Run a knife down the cob lengthways to take off the kernels. This can be quite rustic. Some stay together in big pieces and others break apart.

Ideally cook the halloumi as close to serving time as possible

Cut the block of halloumi into ½ cm pieces lengthways. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over a medium / high heat. Fry the halloumi until golden brown on each side. Place on a paper towel to blot excess oil.

To assemble

Lay the cos lettuce leaves out on a large platter. Top with the cherry tomatoes, corn and radishes. Top with the halloumi pieces and drizzle generously with the dressing. Garnish with fresh herbs, a grind of cracked black pepper and serve immediately.

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