Crack open a tinny (or three): Adam Liaw’s guide to arranging the hottest grazing board of the season

Name: Crack open a tinny (or three): Adam Liaw’s guide to arranging the hottest grazing board of the season
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4-6
Cuisine: Spanish,Mediterranean
Ingredients: 2-3 tins good-quality tinned seafood (smoked Spanish mackerel, sardines etc); 100g smoked salmon slices; 100g manchego cheese; 1 loaf sourdough, sliced; 50g good-quality butter, to serve; 1 packet of square crackers, to serve; lemon wedges, to serve

Adam Liaw

December 12, 2023

easyTime:1-2 hoursServes:4-6

Spain loves good-quality tinned seafood – or “conservas” – eaten without fuss. Thankfully we have a great selection in Australia, too.

Get a good range of seafood for your conservas platter. Think of it a bit like a cheese platter – you want enough variety for everyone to be able to choose what they like.

Ingredients

2-3 tins good-quality tinned seafood (smoked Spanish mackerel, sardines etc)
100g smoked salmon slices
100g manchego cheese
1 loaf sourdough, sliced
50g good-quality butter, to serve
1 packet of square crackers, to serve
lemon wedges, to serve

Pepper cream

150g creme fraiche
1 tsp English mustard
salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper, to season

Dill pickled red onion

¾ cup apple cider vinegar
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp finely shredded dill
2 small red onions, very thinly sliced

Method

For the pickled red onion

For the pickled red onions, heat the apple cider vinegar in a small non-reactive saucepan with the salt and sugar until the salt and sugar dissolve. Add ½ a cup of water, the dill and the onions and transfer to a bowl or container. Allow to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for about an hour until chilled.

For the pepper cream

For the pepper cream, combine the creme fraiche and mustard and season with salt and lots of black pepper.

To serve

Arrange the tins of seafood and smoked salmon on a serving platter alongside the cheese, slices of bread, butter, crackers and lemon wedges with a small bowl of the pepper cream and some of the drained red onion pickle.