I have to start by saying that am totally in love with this product! I cannot believe how fast and easy it is to operate and to infuse an amazing smoky flavour into food. This can take your cooking to whole new heights and allows the common home cook to infuse food with an interesting smoke taste that would normally take hours to achieve, requires expensive and bulky equipment and makes a lot of mess. This brand designs lots of fun, cute and sometimes quirky products for home cooks. They make fantastic gifts for food connoisseurs. Davis & Waddell: you’ve nailed it with this one! The first time I used the Infusion Smoker, I was alone in my kitchen on an average Tuesday morning and I burst out laughing when I turned on the fan, lit up the smoker and saw the smoke pouring out of the hose. I don’t know, perhaps it was the striking similarity to drug paraphernalia that made me giggle – I’ll be blatantly honest, the smoke infuser looks and works exactly like some kind of marijuana pipe. Perhaps what made me laugh out loud was the fact that I was doing something so cool and different – it was like a crazy science experiment all alone in my kitchen with no one else there to see it! Regardless, I was expecting the smoker to be really faffy and difficult to use, but I was very pleasantly surprised. You literally put in 4 AA batteries, place a tiny amount of wood shavings in the basket, flip the one and only switch to turn on the fan, then light the wood chips with a match or lighter. The smoker works instantly and it only takes 5 – 10 seconds to infuse the food with enough beautiful smoky flavor. 5 – 10 seconds!! You can smoke food in any bowl, pan or plastic bag. The smoke just needs to be enclosed with a lid or plastic wrap to let the smoke infuse around the food for 2 minutes. The possibilities for the smoke infuser are endless: BBQ marinades, smoked olives, smoked herb butter, smoked cheese, smoked meats, fish and vegetables, smoke infused salsa and other dips. Impress your guests with the kind of smoked cocktails they’d expect to get at the trendiest of bars. I love that the Infusion Smoker is small and lightweight, so it doesn’t take up a lot of room in your kitchen and is so fast and easy to bring out and use. I nearly fell off my chair when I tasted my smoked labne. This adds a great depth and interest to my dish. I felt very proud and cheffy creating this dish, and I want to share it with you, too. To view the Davis and Waddell Infusion Smoker click here. There is also two kinds of flavoured wood chips to purchase, both Apple and Hickory. Click here view the entire Davis & Waddell range of kitchen tools, cookware and tableware designed in Australia

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Poached Salmon Salad with Smoked Labne, Roasted Beetroot Chips and Orange-Pickled Fennel

This combination of elements in this dish pair so well together – the soft fish with smoky, creamy labne yogurt cheese, crisp roasted beet chips and fresh and crunchy pickled fennel. Everything can be made in advance, making this a great entertaining recipe. Try pairing this dish with a bold and creamy Chardonnay. Serves: 4 Prep time: 1 hr

Ingredients:

Roasted Beet Chips:

• 6-8 mixed yellow and red beetroots
• pinch sea salt flakes
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp olive oil

Pickled Fennel:

• 1 bulb fennel
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp coriander seed
• juice and zest from one orange

Smoked Labne:

• 300g Greek Yoghurt
• Davis & Waddell Infusion Smoker
• Sea salt flakes

Poached Salmon:

• 4 salmon fillets
• zest of one lemon
• one onion
• 1 carrot
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp salt

To serve:

• Mixed soft herbs, such as mint, dill, coriander parsley and chervil
• Extra virgin olive oil.

Instructions:

For the Smoked Labne

1. Place the yogurt in a clean tea towel or cheese cloth and tie up the ends. Hang over the sink or into a bowl to catch the liquid.
2. Let drain for 2 hours then scrape labne into a bowl with plastic wrap over the top.
3. Infuse with smoke for 8 seconds using the Davis & Waddell Infusion Smoker then cover the plastic wrap tightly for 2 minutes. Open to allow the smoke to escape then recover and store in the fridge until ready to assemble the dish.

For the Pickled Fennel

1. Using a mandolin slicer or sharp knife, slice the fennel into very thin slices.
2. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a small pan over a medium heat. Add the orange zest and juice, coriander seeds and salt.
3. Pour over the fennel in a clean, sterilized jar and allow to sit for 1 hour.

For the Beet Chips

1. Heat the oven to 190C/375F and line two large trays with baking paper.
2. Scrub the beets well with a scourer under running water to clean off any dirt and most of the bitter skins. (Keep the stems on as they make a good handle for slicing in the next step)
3. Using a mandolin slicer, slice the beets as thinly as possible – about 1 mm thick. Careful not to mix the red and yellow so the red doesn’t bleed. Place in separate bowls.
4. Drizzle olive oil over both bowls of beets and then the balsamic over the red ones only. Place them on separate roasting trays and scatter over some salt.
5. Roast in the oven for 10 minutes, turn the tray and then roast for a further 10 minutes.
6. Scatter over a little more salt if need. Allow to cool on the tray and set aside.

For the Poached Salmon

1. In a medium sized cooking pot, bring all ingredients except salmon up to simmering (not boiling). Place the salmon in the liquid and poach for 7 – 10 minutes depending on how you like it.
2. Take out of the water, drain and set aside on a plate in the fridge until you are ready to assemble the dish. (it can also be served warm if serving straight away.)

To Assemble: Spoon a heaped tablespoon of labne on each plate and spread out a little. Top with a few slices of pickled fennel, then flake one fillet of salmon around each plate. Top with a good handful of red and yellow beet chips. In a bowl, toss together the herbs with some of the pickled fennel liquid. Place a bundle of herbs on top of each place. Top with some fennel fronds. Finally, drizzle each plate with some extra virgin olive oil, a half teaspoon more of the fennel poaching liquid and scatter with a pinch of sea salt. Add some extra beet chips on top to garnish. About the Author: Becky Gilhespie is a food writer and former Masterchef semi-finalist. She is currently working part time as a chef, having chosen to do on the job training instead of enrolling at culinary school. Becky is a recipe writer and product tester for many household name brands via Everten and her own food blog, www.eatwhatweeat.com focuses on family friendly meals with the wow factor that are healthy, fast and simple to prepare. Becky is originally from the US but lived in London for 15 years and now resides in Sydney with her husband and two little boys. Her food is inspired a lot by her travels (and desire to travel more).