It was a very glamorous weekend in the Graphic Foodie kitchen. Out with my typical rustic peasant Italian cooking and in with some decadence for a change!

I used to be hell bent on creating punishing menus for any get-together at my house, because I'm a bit of a show-off to be honest, but not spending any time with your guests as you were locked, sweating in the kitchen, along with frazzled nerves and weary legs from all-day cooking got a bit boring after a while. Freixenet sent me a few bottles from their range, along with some recipes for easy, yet indulgent cava-based dishes to try out and I was pleasanly surprised. I'll certainly be making the cava-poached salmon dish a go again, perfect for a dinner party starter or a luxurious lunch with the girls. You really did get the benefit of the cava in the taste of the dish and was perfect washed down with a glass or two more of bubbly.

Ps. There's a giveaway for some Freixenet cava, an entertaining cookbook and recipe cards at the bottom of the post - good luck!

This recipe, by Jo Pratt, was super easy and completely prepare-ahead for stress free entertaining.

Serves 6

• 6 x skinless salmon fillets
• Butter for greasing
• 250ml Freixenet Cordon Negro
• 1 bay leaf
• Small bunch of dill
• 2 shallots, peeled and sliced
• 450g fresh podded broad beans (I used peas as couldn't get hold of any broad beans)
• 100ml mayonnaise
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 500g cooked new potatoes, halved or quartered
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• Small bag of pea shoots or watercress sprigs
• Lemon wedges to garnish

1. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper.
2. Smear a little butter on the base of a large frying pan, and sit in the salmon. Slowly pour in the Freixenet and add the bay leaf, half of the dill and the shallots. Bring to a simmer, spoon some Freixenet over the salmon then cover with a lid. Poach for about 8-10 minutes until the salmon is cooked through.
3. Remove the salmon from the pan and boil the poaching liquid until it reduces in quantity by roughly one half. Leave both the salmon and poaching liquid to cool.
4. Cook the broad beans in boiling salted water for just a few minutes, then drain and rinse under the cold tap to cool. If you have the time it is well worth removing the greyish skin from the broad beans, revealing the bright green bean inside.
5. To make a dressing, mix together the mayonnaise and Dijon mustard then add enough of the cooled poaching liquid to make a loose dressing, with the consistency of pouring cream. Chop the remaining dill, season with salt and pepper and mix.
6. The broad beans, potatoes and spring onions can now be mixed with the dressing. Add the pea shoots or watercress and then flake in the salmon. Gently mix together. Serve on a plate

To polish off the Salmon and the Cava, I then made some particularly potent Freixenet, Elderflower & Strawberry Jellies. The recipe for these, as well as some others by Jo Pratt can be found at www.facebook.com/freixenet.

Cookbook and Cava Giveaway

The competition has now closed. Congratulations to Jennifer McDermott who was picked using a random name selector. She wins the copy of Jo Pratt's In the Mood for Entertaining, some recipe cards and a bottle of Freixenet bubbly. Enjoy x

• Competition closes at GMT midday Friday 30th September 2011.
• A winner will be selected from all valid entries using a random number generator.
• The winner will be notified by email or twitter after the competition closes on Friday 30th September 2011.
• The prize is one In The Mood For Entertaining cookbook, Freixenent recipe cards, plus one bottle of Freixenet cava. The winner can specify any address they would like it sent to within mainland UK.
• No part of a prize is exchangeable for cash or any other prize.
• You must be over 18 years of age.
• The judges’ decision will be final, and no correspondence will be entered into.