A luxurious layered seafood roast featuring tender salmon filled with smoked haddock, prawns, herbs and boiled eggs, finished with a rich, silky lemon-butter sauce — an impressive showstopper for any special occasion.
Serves: 6–8
Preparation Time: 40 mins
Cooking Time: 45 mins
Ingredients
For the Smoked Haddock
- 500 g smoked haddock
- 250 ml milk (full-fat or semi-skimmed)
- 250 ml water
- 1 bay leaf (fresh or dried)
For the Prawns
- 200 g raw prawns (small to medium)
- ½ tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
For the Salmon Roast
- 2 salmon sides (tail end), about 600 g each
- 3 tbsp crème fraîche or soured cream
- 1 tbsp Dijon or wholegrain mustard
- 3 boiled eggs, sliced
- 10 g chives (keep a few whole for garnish)
- 10 g fresh parsley (small handful), chopped
- 1 lemon, sliced into rounds
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Lemon-Butter Sauce
- 200 g unsalted butter
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Poach the smoked haddock - Combine the milk, water and bay leaf in a shallow pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the haddock and poach for 5 minutes until cooked through. Remove the fish, drain and flake gently with two forks. Set aside to cool.
2. Cook the prawns - Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a high heat.
Add the prawns, season with salt and pepper, and fry for about 2 minutes, tossing frequently. Add the lemon juice, toss once more, then transfer to a plate and set aside.
3. Prepare the salmon and filling - Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) / Gas 6.
Cut four pieces of kitchen string (around 45 cm each) and lay them across a baking dish, evenly spaced. Place one salmon side, skin-side down, on top of the strings.
Season the skinless sides of both fillets with salt and pepper. Finely chop the parsley and most of the chives (reserve a few whole sprigs for garnish). In a small bowl, mix the crème fraîche and mustard with a little salt and pepper, then spread this evenly over both salmon fillets.
4. Assemble the roast - Layer the flaked haddock over the base salmon fillet.
Sprinkle with parsley, then arrange the sliced boiled eggs on top.
Add half of the chopped chives, followed by the prawns and any pan juices.
Scatter over the remaining chives, season lightly, and place the second salmon fillet on top, flesh-side down. Tie securely with the kitchen string — snug but not too tight.
Tuck lemon slices and sprigs of herbs under the string for decoration.
5. Roast the salmon - Roast for 35 minutes for a medium, tender finish or 45 minutes for well-cooked fish. Once done, remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
6. Make the lemon-butter sauce - Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
Once it starts to turn light golden brown (around 3 minutes), remove from the heat.
Stir in the salt and lemon juice, whisking until smooth. Season with black pepper. For a deeper, nutty flavour, cook the butter an extra minute before adding the lemon juice.
Serve warm — the sauce will stay pourable for around 20 minutes and can be gently reheated if needed.