
This month’s Silver Travel Cook Club features a recipe for poached salmon and cucumber salad from sponsor Viking’s recipe book The Kitchen Table.
Exploring destinations and discovering different cultures and traditions is at the heart of every Viking river and ocean journey. And of course, food – not only the recipes prepared by the onboard chefs, but local cuisine in all the fascinating places Viking’s ships visit – is an essential part of the overall Viking experience.
Viking created this recipe book in response to requests from guests, who told them how much they enjoyed the food served on board their ships, and in the ports of call, and wanted to try making some of these dishes at home.
You will find some of Viking’s favourite recipes from Scandinavia, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, North America and the Caribbean, inspired by their travels and yours. It is a food odyssey, and a celebration of all the wonderful flavours you can savour while travelling the world.
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Recipe: Viking Chairman’s Choice – Poached Salmon & Cucumber Salad


Watch the video | Serves 4
Ingredients:
Salmon:
- 4 salmon fillets (around 6 oz/170g)
For the cucumber salad:
- 1 cucumber
- Salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 3 ½ fl oz (100ml) water
- 8 ½ fl oz (250ml) rice wine vinegar
For the chive sauce (SANDEFJORD SMØR):
- 1 pint (475ml) double cream
- 2 ¾ oz (80g) butter
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp fresh chives
Method:
- Peel the cucumber and slice into discs. Sprinkle the discs with salt and allow to marinate for 5 minutes. Pour away the liquid. Mix the sugar, water and vinegar, and cover the sliced cucumber. Place in the fridge for half an hour. Drain and reserve.
- Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, then turn down the heat and add the salmon fillets. Allow to poach for about 8 minutes until the fish meat flakes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the chive sauce. Bring the cream to the boil in a saucepan, then reduce the heat and allow to simmer until reduced by half. Whisk in the butter, then add the fresh chives and season to taste.
How to win a copy of The Kitchen Table
Comment below to tell us which recipe you would like to create at home that you enjoyed whilst on holiday, possibly on an ocean or river cruise.
A winner will be chosen at random in early October 2023.
The competition closes on 30 September 2023.
19 Responses
I have a passion for sushi – but really fresh fish is a must. I am not so sure about this anymore as a documentary I recently watched said ocean creatures are showing significant levels of cocaine consumption which apparently they pick up from contaminated water. But sushi has always been my favourite 😍
Baked Alaska , had it on a cruise and it was awesome
Whilst cruising on the Loire, I had bouillabaisse for the first time and would love to make it at home.
Would love to make a nice seafood paella after my travel in southern Spain.
I love a customised omelette from the egg chef
Wensleydale cheese fritters in the Hawes Chippy a few hundred yards from Wensleydale creamery. Simple, cheap and very tasty.
I first ever tried beef wellington on a cruise and it was delicious so would definitely like to try and make this dish.
Kaiserschmarrn
Discovered on a trip to Bavaria. A delicious pancake and apple dessert which I can’t seem to replicate.
Gravad lax would be my choice after a boat trip up the Norwegian coast.
Many years ago, whilst in France, I had braised tongue in a port wine sauce. It was delicious but I have never been able to replicate it, partly because raw tongue is quite difficult to come by.
On board Iona we enjoyed the dishes offered in the Olive Grove bistro, mainly Mediterranean food. We often chose the sharing starter of the Mezze board. I find myself now sourcing fresh olives, cheeses and fresh meats from all over the Mediterranean region so that I can replicate the flavours and ‘feel’ at home. It’s such a simple, yet effective and delicious way to enjoy a glass of wine and the promise of a lovely meal.
A superb filet steak with pepper sauce, cooked to perfection, like on board. A small trolley of French fries and side salad.
Never been on a cruise but if I did I would love pan fried tuna with dauphinoise potatoes
A beautiful Hungarian goulash served in a bread pot.
The first country I ever visited was Lebanon (it was because of love) – we had the most amazing dish called Kibbeh in a mountain village. I would love to create that along with the light and scents of the Arabian kitchen!
Fesenjoon, a pomegranate and walnut stew that I had in Iran. It was such a delicious meal that I tried to recreate at home. I got tips like grate the onions in the tiny meatballs instead of chopping and the walnut oil makes a difference.
My husband has recreated sweet chilli chicken wings & bbq spare ribs first tasted in Florida over 30 years ago.
Tiramisu
The open sandwiches so loved by the Scandinavians… Many, many, many years ago there used to be a Norwegian Food Centre in London and we used to go in for lunch. The choice of open sandwiches was amazing – so many different varieties to try. And then there were the fish dishes too… I never knew there were so many different ways to serve pickled herring. They never tasted the same when I tried to make them at home.