Cured Salmon Gravlax

Name: Cured Salmon Gravlax
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Nordic
Ingredients: 1 side of salmon, skin on, pin bones removed (about 800g); 80g coarse salt; 60g granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons crushed white peppercorns; 2 large bunches dill, roughly chopped; 2 tablespoons aquavit or vodka; Rye bread, to serve

Nordic · Spring · 60 min · Serves 8 · By Theo Lindqvist

Gravlax is the most generous of make-ahead projects: ten minutes of work, then the refrigerator does the rest over two patient days. Salt and sugar draw the salmon into something silky and translucent, while dill and a little aquavit lend it the scent of a Nordic spring. Slice it as thinly as your knife allows.

Ingredients

1 side of salmon, skin on, pin bones removed (about 800g)
80g coarse salt
60g granulated sugar
2 tablespoons crushed white peppercorns
2 large bunches dill, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons aquavit or vodka
Rye bread, to serve

Method

Stir together the salt, sugar, and crushed peppercorns.
Lay the salmon skin-side down in a dish. Rub it with the aquavit, then pack the salt mixture over the flesh and bury it under the chopped dill.
Cover with cling film, set a small board and a weight on top, and refrigerate for 48 hours, turning the fish once a day and basting it in the brine that collects.
Lift the salmon out and scrape away the dill and cure. Pat dry.
Slice very thinly on the diagonal, leaving the skin behind, and serve with rye bread.