{Serves 10 to 12}
Lox lovers rejoice! Gravlax is salmon cured with salt, Scandinavian style, without the use of heat. It is typically seasoned with dill and black pepper, but you can experiment with other spices such as juniper berries, fennel seeds, or coriander as well.
Serve on a platter with crackers or bread, Must-Have Mustard, and Old World Cucumber Pickles or on a sandwich with sliced raw cheese and Mayonnaise. Note that you will need 36 to 48 hours for the gravlax to cure, so plan accordingly.
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh salmon, divided into 2 equal fillets, skin on
2 tablespoons rapadura
2 tablespoons sea salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh dill
Rinse the salmon, pat it dry, and remove any bones.
In a small bowl, combine the rapadura, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle over the flesh side of the salmon fillets, covering their entire surface. Lay a thick bed of dill over the salmon, reserving and refrigerating a few branches for serving.
Sandwich the two filets together with the skin side facing out. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then wrap it in plastic wrap again to seal well. Place the salmon on a rimmed dish or baking pan and weight down with a heavy can or the like. Refrigerate for 36 to 48 hours to cure, draining any liquid every 12 hours and turning the wrapped packet over.
Unwrap the plastic, remove and discard the dill, and scrape off any loose salt and rapadura. Thinly slice and serve with the reserved dill. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.
