Tiktok star Poppy O'Toole's Tikka Salmon with Easy Flatbread is the perfect midweek dinner

The 'queen of potatoes' shares a recipe from her new book 

Poppy O'Toole's Salmon Tikka. Picture: Louise Hagger/PA. 

Poppy O’Toole, 27, has worked in restaurant kitchens since she was 18, but lost her job when Covid kicked in and restaurants locked down. She applied for work at Iceland, but that didn’t come off. What did though were the videos she began posting on TikTok @poppycooks.

Her page is both a clever, witty recipe vault – from her go-to tomato sauce to her perfect roast chicken – and an unapologetic ode to the humble potato. O’Toole is ‘Queen of Potatoes’ and a potato TikTok acolyte – mashed, roasted, crispy, golden, buttery, any which way, she loves them. “They’ve been everything for me,” she says, quite seriously. “I find them very versatile. They can go in nearly everything. They go with nearly everything.” They are, in fact, a cheap meal in a skin.

Now, a “crazy” 18 months and 1.8 million followers on, her potato related antics and all-encompassing enthusiasm for home cooking has landed her that cookbook. One designed to have you making classics (steak and chips, lasagne) and basic staples (white sauce, vinaigrette) as well as dishes that pop with fun like this tikka salmon recipe. 

“I’m a tikka kinda girl. I’m ashamed to say that as much as I try to pretend to be a food connoisseur, I order a Chicken Tikka Masala every single time from the curry house,” she admits

And then there were flatbreads. 

“So much about 2020 made it a terrible year, but one great thing that came out of it for me was appreciating this flat-bread recipe,” says chef Poppy O’Toole. “It’s so, so simple. I’m one of those people (like my Mom) who heads to the shops almost every day because I’ve forgotten something on the big shop.

“During the height of lockdown, we weren’t able to do that, but discovering how easy it was to make a flatbread meant that lunch was always sorted. Easy flatbread. Hummus. Dips. Perfection. But also a flatbread to use in so many ways.”

Tikka salmon with speedy flatbreads

Once wrapped up in your flat bread with lashings of mango chutney and cucumber salad, you’ll never turn back.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 40 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the salmon:

• 400g/14oz boneless salmon fillet (skin on)

• 3tbsp tandoori masala powder

• 2tbsp Greek or coconut-milk yogurt

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1tbsp olive oil

• Salt and black pepper

• For the cucumber salad:

• Juice of 1 lime

• ½ cucumber, sliced into ribbons (see tip)

• A small bunch of coriander, leaves picked and chopped

• A small bunch of mint, leaves picked and chopped

• A pinch of flaky salt

• To serve:

• Mango chutney

• 1 red chilli, sliced into rounds (optional; deseeded for less heat)

• Bombay mix (optional)

• For the flatbreads:

• 250g/9oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting

• 250g/9oz Greek yoghurt (or 125ml/½ cup warm water + 2tbsp vegetable oil, if you’re vegan)

• 1tsp onion seeds, poppy seeds or sesame seeds

• 1tsp baking powder

• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas 6. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

2. Make the flat breads: in a bowl mix all the ingredients – flour, yoghurt, seeds, baking powder and seasoning – into a dough. Knead for about three minutes, to a soft but not sticky ball. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave for 10 minutes to rest.

3. Cut the ball into four equal pieces and use a rolling pin to roll each one out to a thin round. You’re aiming for them to be about 12cm/5 inches in diameter – but don’t worry if they look rustic in shape. Set aside the rolled-flat flatbreads on a lightly floured surface.

4. Place a large, dry frying pan over a high heat. Leave it to get hot, then throw in the first flatbread – no oil, no butter, nothing… just dry, hot heat. Once bubbles start to form in the dough (about 30 seconds) and you’ve got a little bit of char on the underside, flip over the flat bread and cook the other side for about 30 seconds, to get a little bit of char there, too. Keep warm while you do the same with the remaining three flatbreads.

5. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper, then place it on to the lined tray.

6. Mix all the remaining salmon ingredients in a bowl to create a marinade, then use this for smothering your salmon. You want a nice, thick layer.

7. Leave the salmon to marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes, then put the tray in the oven and bake the salmon for 20 minutes, until opaque and cooked through.

8. Meanwhile, make the cucumber salad. Mix together the lime juice, the cucumber ribbons and both the herbs. Season with the salt and set aside.

9. Heat a dry frying pan over a high heat until it’s smoking hot. Place the flatbreads in the pan and warm through. (Or reheat them in a microwave.) Set aside and keep them warm until you’re ready to use.

10. Once the salmon is ready, smother the flatbreads in mango chutney, top with gorgeous flakes of pink salmon and cover with your cucumber salad. I like to add an extra kick with some slices of chilli, and texture with extra-crunchy Bombay mix. That’s it. Fold and eat.
    
    CHEF’S TIP: To get ribbons from a cucumber, simply use a speed peeler and slice off lengths in the same spot all the way through. Behold! A pile of long, thin cucumber ribbons.
    
    Poppy Cooks: The Food You Need by Poppy O’Toole, photography by Louise Hagger, is published by Bloomsbury, priced €22.