Take your cooking cues from the garden and bring the outdoors inside with these delicious recipes. From sweet lemon cakes to pea and lettuce soup, these hearty dishes will delight the senses – as any good garden will.

Recipes Rosa Matto | Styling Natalie Homan | Photographs Brendan Homan

makes one 16cm loaf tin, or one 12cm springform cake tin

for salmon, egg and prawn salad sandwich cake
½ loaf light rye bread, cut 1.5cm thick
½ loaf dark rye bread, cut 1.5cm thick

for hot smoked salmon layer
150g piece hot smoked salmon, finely flaked (skin removed)
½ avocado, coarsely mashed
½ lemon, zest and juice
3 tbsp dill, chopped
drizzle oil
salt and pepper, to taste

for egg salad layer
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 small potato, boiled and coarsely mashed
1 stem celery, chopped
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp caraway seeds
 tbsp fresh continental parsley leaves, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

for prawn layer
250g cooked prawns, peeled, tail off
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp Sriracha or mayonnaise, with chilli flakes to taste
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp red onions, very finely chopped
½ lemon, zest and juice
salt and pepper

for ‘the frosting’
1 cup cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream
½ cup excellent quality mayonnaise
salt and white pepper, to taste

garnish
dill leaves
cucumber
radish roses
parsley leaves
edible flowers
chives

Line cake tin with baking paper. Prepare fillings for each separate layer by combining ingredients in separate bowls. Cut two slices of white rye and two slices dark rye to fit your tin. Put one layer of dark, cover with the salmon filling. Top with light rye and then the egg layer filling. Cover with smoked salmon rillettes and finish with a dark rye.

Allow to set in fridge while you make the ‘frosting’ and prepare the garnishes.

Place all ingredients for frosting in a small bowl, mixing well with a fork or whisk until well combined. Then set aside in the refrigerator.

To garnish, use your imagination to create a mini garden scene. Cover with a deep plastic bowl and leave in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

 

This article first appeared in the May 2024 issue of SALIFE magazine.