Recipe: pea salad with mint and smoked salmon

In The New French Kitchen, Géraldine demystifies French cooking with delectable yet easy-to-make recipes that have a little twist, or je ne sais quoi.

Here Géraldine reflects on her own French food journey...

A little about Géraldine

I was born in Paris, France, and grew up in a small, peaceful, and green town near the capital. It was at home that I discovered my passion for homemade dishes. Despite a busy schedule, my mum always found the time to prepare a warm meal with fresh ingredients every evening, cooking us easy and healthy recipes. Soon, I started helping her in the kitchen, developing my creativity and love for this special time of the day.

As I grew up and pursued my studies and a career, my commitment to healthy, homemade cooking remained strong. Over time, I noticed a real need for inspiration for quick and balanced everyday meals among those around me.

This is how I began sharing my everyday recipes inspired by French cuisine on social media, followed by starting a food blog. 

With content initially intended for my friends and family, my desire to share my culinary creations quickly attracted a growing community.

Without this incredible community, I wouldn’t be writing the introduction to my first cookbook today! 

In 2023, I made a big decision to turn this passion into my profession.

Today, I am able to make a living from my activities as a recipe developer, content creator and food photographer.

Pea salad with mint and smoked salmon

Makes 2-3 servings

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 290g fresh or 270g frozen peas
• ½ cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, then thinly sliced into half-moons
• 20g arugula or rocket
• 25g roughly chopped fresh mint, plus more leaves for garnishing
• 25g roughly chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnishing
• 1 hot-smoked salmon fillet (200g; see Notes)
• 1 medium lemon, for zesting and juicing
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pinch fleur de sel or sea salt flakes
• Black pepper

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare a bowl of cold water with ice cubes for an ice bath.

2. Cook the peas in the boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes if fresh or 3 minutes if frozen, until crisp-tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and then place in the ice bath for 2 minutes. Drain again.

3. In a large salad bowl, combine the peas, cucumber, arugula or rocket, mint, and dill. Crumble the smoked salmon and add it to the bowl. Grate the lemon zest over the salad.

4. Right before serving, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice, oil, fleur de sel, and pepper to taste and mix well. Transfer to a serving plate. Serve immediately. 

Notes: If you can’t find hot-smoked salmon, place a skinless salmon fillet in a small oven-safe dish, season it with salt and pepper, and drizzle it with olive oil. 

Bake in an oven preheated to 200°C for 20 minutes, or until the flesh is pale pink and flakes easily with a fork.

Let cool, then flake with a fork. For a quicker version, replace the hot-smoked salmon with two slices of smoked salmon cut into 2.5cm pieces.

The New French Kitchen: Modern Takes on Favourite Classic Dishes by Géraldine Leverd, published by Rock Point, price €20

Other recipes from Géraldine's book include tasty tomato tarte tatin and orange and cardamom crème brûlée.