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26th November 2020

Chefs in the Lockdown Spotlight – Asen Ibrov

Written by: Edward Waddell
The next chef to feature in the Lockdown Spotlight series is Asen Ibrov, executive chef for the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in London, who wanted to share his experience, talent and knowledge.

You can find out more about his work by following his Instagram account.

Beetroot – cured salmon with avocado cream, served with parsley mousse, onion pickle, fresh cucumber, salmon caviar and sesame chips.

Ingredients for beetroot-cured salmon:

  • 400g fresh salmon
  • 150g beetroot
  • 50g sugar
  • 50g Maldon salt
  • 1 orange
  • 1 lemon

Method:

  • Mix your salt and sugar and roll the salmon.
  • Then grate the beetroot. Grate the lemon and the orange and squeeze them. Mix together the beetroot, citrus juice and the zest.
  • Spread half of the beetroot mix on a small tray, place the salmon and add the other half on top of the fish.
  • Cover the tray with cling film and leave for 8 hours in the fridge or even better overnight. If you want, you can put some heavy pot on top of the fish.
  • The next day rinse the salmon in cold water and dry your salmon with a paper towel.
  • Salmon is ready to be sliced as you wish.

Ingredients for avocado cream:

  • 2 avocados
  • 1 lemon
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • Few drops of sesame oil

Method:

  • Put all the ingredients in the blender and mix well.
  • Strain two times through a fine sieve and you will have soft avocado cream.

Ingredients for pickled onion:

  • 150ml cider vinegar
  • 30g sugar
  • 4 to 5 coriander seeds
  • 1 star anise
  • 2 red onions
  • Pinch of salt

Method:

  • Pour the vinegar in the pan and add all spices, bring to simmer. After 1 to 2 minutes check that the salt and sugar are dissolved and remove from the heat.
  • Finely slice the red onion and add to the hot vinegar.
  • Bring the vinegar to the heat for 1 minute. After leaving to cool.

Ingredients for parsley mousse:

  • 100g fresh parsley (just leaves)
  • Pinch of salt
  • Pinch of white pepper
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1.5 sheets of gelatin
  • 125ml double cream
  • 75ml water

Method:

  • Blanch the parsley leaves. As soon your parsley is blanched you need to put in cold water with ice to keep the colour fresh.
  • Take out and squeeze it just a little bit.
  • Blend the parsley together with 2 tbls water and strain two times through a fine sieve. You will have wonderful green puree.
  • Put the gelatin sheets in cold water for 5 minutes.
  • Mix the egg yolk with salt and white pepper.
  • Squeeze the gelatin and add to simmer water (35 ml) to melted.
  • After bringing the gelatin to the egg yolk slowly (be careful to not cook the egg yolk) and mix well.
  • Whip the double cream slightly.
  • The last to do is adding the parsley puree to the egg yolk with gelatin, mix well with silicone spatula and add slowly the whipped double cream.
  • Leave in the fridge for two hours.

Ingredients for sesame chips:

  • 1 egg white
  • 50g sesame seeds
  • Pinch of salt

Method:

  • Blend the sesame seeds in a blender.
  • Mix well together with the egg white and salt.
  • Spread with a palette knife on baking paper and if you want different shapes you can use forms or rings.
  • Put in a pre-heated oven 180°C for 5 to 6 minutes.