Merry Christmas! Gravlax for Christmas Eve!

I had wanted to try and make my own Gravlax for years...and I finally did! Gravelax is a Scandinavian specialty: a fillet of salmon cured for three days in salt and sugar, dill and a few spices! I serve it with home made blinis.
You do not need Christmas to eat this either...any time of the year for me!

**** Prepare 3 days ahead ****

Salmon Gravlax with Dill

One 3-lb fillet of salmon, skin on
8 Tbsp coarse salt
8 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp whole peppercorns (I use a mix of peppers)
1 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 bunch of fresh dill

Place the salmon on a sheet of plastic wrap (in a sheet pan, to prevent the juices to leak into the fridge later), skin side down, and with the help of tweezers, remove all the bones that are left in the fish.

Heat the peppercorns and the coriander seeds in a small skillet to release all the fragrances.
Remove from the heat and place in a dry and clean dish towel. Crush the spices with a mallet, or, if you own one, with a mortar and pestle.
Set aside.

In a small bowl, mix the sugar and salt. Add the spices and mix well.

Spread the salt mixture evenly on top of the salmon, covering all the flesh of the fish. On top of this, spread the dill evenly all over.

Wrap the fish very tightly with the plastic film and refrigerate for three days. Do not hesitate to wrap it several times around. While it is in the fridge, you do not need to do anything!

After the thee days, remove the fish from he fridge; remove the plastic film and quickly rinse under cold water. Place on a cutting board and dry with paper towels.

Slice the fish very thinly (knife needs to be really sharp), almost horizontally, starting at the tail.

Serve on top of blinis, with Creme fraiche, chopped red onion, capers and lemon.




Update (February 2015)

There is another version of the Gravelax that I have been making more often now.

3 lbs Filet of Salmon
150 grams sugar
300 grams coarse salt
3 Tbsp peppercorns, crushed
7 cl vodka
1 bunch of fresh dill, chopped

Prepare the salmon as previously.
Mix all the other ingredients, with half the dill, in a bowl.
Spread on top of the salmon. Cover tightly with plastic film.
Refrigerate for 24 hours.

When ready, rinse under cold water to get rid of the extra salt.
Pat dry and cover with the remaining dill. Cover again with plastic film and refrigerate for at least another 6 hours.

Serve sliced thin with blinis.