A speedy weeknight dinner that'll impress.
Ingredients
"I’m a tikka kinda girl. I’m ashamed to say that as much as I try to pretend to be a food connoisseur, I order a Chicken Tikka Masala every single time from the curry house," admits food writer Poppy O’Toole.
"This twist on a tikka brings it to a gorgeously fresh piece of salmon. Once wrapped up in your flat bread with lashings of mango chutney and cucumber salad, you’ll never turn back."
Serves 4
The core
1 recipe quantity of Easy Flat Breads (4 flat breads; see below)
For the salmon:
- 400g/14oz boneless salmon fillet (skin on)
- 3tbsp tandoori masala powder
- 2tbsp Greek or coconut-milk yogurt
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1tbsp olive oil
- Salt and black pepper
For the cucumber salad:
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ cucumber, sliced into ribbons *TIP!
- A small bunch of coriander, leaves picked and chopped
- A small bunch of mint, leaves picked and chopped
- A pinch of flaky salt
To serve:
- Mango chutney
- 1 red chilli, sliced into rounds (optional; deseeded for less heat)
- Bombay mix (optional)
For the flat breads: (makes 4)
- 250g/9oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 250g/9oz Greek yogurt (or 125ml/½ cup warm water + 2tbsp vegetable oil, if you’re vegan)
- 1tsp onion seeds, poppy seeds or sesame seeds
- 1tsp baking powder
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Make the flat breads: in a bowl mix all the ingredients – flour, yogurt, seeds, baking powder and seasoning – into a dough. Knead for about three minutes, to a soft but not sticky ball. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave for 10 minutes to rest.
- Cut the ball into four equal pieces and use a rolling pin to roll each one out to a thin round. You're aiming for them to be about 12cm/5 inches in diameter – but don’t worry if they look rustic in shape. Set aside the rolled-flat flat breads on a lightly floured surface.
- Place a large, dry frying pan over a high heat. Leave it to get hot, then throw in the first flat bread – no oil, no butter, nothing… just dry, hot heat.
- Once bubbles start to form in the dough (about 30 seconds) and you’ve got a little bit of char on the underside, flip over the flat bread and cook the other side for about 30 seconds, to get a little bit of char there, too. Keep warm while you do the same with the remaining three flat breads.
- Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, then place it on to the lined tray.
- Mix all the remaining salmon ingredients in a bowl to create a marinade, then use this for smothering your salmon. You want a nice, thick layer.
- Leave the salmon to marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes, then put the tray in the oven and bake the salmon for 20 minutes, until opaque and cooked through.
- Meanwhile, make the cucumber salad. Mix together the lime juice, the cucumber ribbons and both the herbs. Season with the salt and set aside.
- Heat a dry frying pan over a high heat until it’s smoking hot. Place the flat breads in the pan and warm through. (Or reheat them in a microwave.) Set aside and keep them warm until you’re ready to use.
- Once the salmon is ready, smother the flat breads in mango chutney, top with gorgeous flakes of pink salmon and cover with your cucumber salad. I like to add an extra kick with some slices of chilli, and texture with extra-crunchy Bombay mix. That’s it. Fold and eat.
*CHEF’S TIP: To get ribbons from a cucumber, simply use a speed peeler and slice off lengths in the same spot all the way through. Behold! A pile of long, thin cucumber ribbons.
Poppy Cooks: The Food You Need by Poppy O’Toole, photography by Louise Hagger, is published by Bloomsbury.
