David Herbert’s no-cook seafood spread

This delicious spread — prawns with a crunchy coleslaw, and gravlax, or Scandinavian cured salmon — requires no cooking.

Delish: prawns with fennel coleslaw. Picture: Guy Bailey

This delicious spread requires no cooking, pairing prawns with a crunchy coleslaw of fennel, radish and asparagus. Gravlax – fresh salmon cured with a mixture of salt, sugar and dill – is perfect for open sandwiches and canapés. In Scandinavia it is traditionally garnished with dill and lemon slices and served with wholemeal, rye or pumpernickel bread. It’s also delicious with a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream mixed with a little creamed horseradish.

Prawns with fennel coleslaw

About 20 large cooked prawns, peeled and deveined

Extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

2 bulbs of fennel, trimmed and thinly sliced

4 radishes, thinly sliced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 spring onions, thinly sliced

2 carrots, coarsely grated

1 red chilli, finely chopped

6 asparagus spears, trimmed and halved lengthways

1 clove garlic, crushed

²/³ cup (190g) plain yoghurt

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Handful of mint, roughly chopped

Toss the prawns in a little oil and about 2 teaspoons of lemon juice; season with pepper. To make the coleslaw, combine the fennel, radish, red onion, spring onion, carrot, chilli, asparagus and garlic in a large bowl. Whisk together the yoghurt, mustard and 2 teaspoons of the remaining lemon juice, pour over the coleslaw and mix gently. Season, scatter with mint and serve with the cooked prawns. Serves 4

Gravlax. Picture: Guy Bailey

Gravlax

2 large salmon fillets, skin on

3 tablespoons sea salt

2 tablespoons white granulated sugar

3 tablespoons roughly chopped dill, including stems

Place salmon fillets skin-side down. Combine the salt and sugar and sprinkle over the fillets, giving a good even covering, then top with the chopped dill. Sandwich the fillets together, with the salt mixture in the centre, and laying the thin end of one fillet against the thick end of the other to make a parcel of even thickness. Wrap tightly in plastic film, transfer to a ceramic dish and place a weight on top – I usually use a small chopping board weighted with unopened cans of beans or tomatoes. Place in the fridge and leave for 2-3 days, turning the fish parcel once or twice. Unwrap, drain off any liquid and brush off the dill, then gently wipe the surface of the fish clean with paper towels or a clean cloth. When ready to serve, thinly slice on the diagonal as you would smoked salmon, discarding the skin. Makes canapes for 12