Chilled noodles may not sound like the most appetizing of dishes, but trust me they are well worth the effort. The noodles can be cooked well in advance, making sure they are refreshed after cooking in plenty of cold running water and drained well to stop sticking. This dish does taste as good as it looks.

Serves 2

Ingredients

180g (6 3/4oz) buckwheat noodles

1 tbs olive oil

220g (7 3/4oz) salmon, skin and bones removed

1 sheet of nori*

1 tsp sesame oil

1 small Lebanese cucumber

2 tbs pickled ginger

1 tbs black sesame seeds (toasted white seeds are also fine)

2 tbs light soy sauce

6 sprigs fresh coriander (cilantro)

1 fresh lime

Method

Plunge the buckwheat noodles into a pot of boiling salted water and cook until soft, leaving a light nutty texture. Heat the olive oil in a small but heavy based saucepan until a blue haze appears. Lay the piece of salmon in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes then turn and cook to desired doneness. I prefer the salmon cooked to medium rare so a cooking time of around 8 minutes all up; this certainly varies due to the thickness of the salmon. Once cooked set aside and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve topped with coriander sprigs and with a wedge of lime.

Prepare the nori by placing on a baking tray drizzled with sesame oil, and toast in a hot oven (200C/400F) for 5-6 minutes or until crisp. Cool slightly then crumble into pieces. Using a vegetable peeler, peel ribbons from the cucumber, discarding the center seeded section. To assemble, break the salmon into smaller pieces, toss through the noodles with cucumber, pickled ginger, sesame seeds, toasted nori pieces, sesame oil and soy sauce.

Notes

* Nori is sheets of seaweed found in the Asian section of your supermarket.