Gravlax salmon is a Scandinavian dish (‘gravad lax’ in Swedish) with a mix of salt, sugar, pink pepper and even vodka. It’s a true delish if you respect few important points in its preparation: first of all the salmon needs to be of an extreme quality and wild, then it needs to spend few hours under a large coarse salt cover. The salt is going to take away the water from the flesh and the salmon will be slightly ‘candied’ (on its surface) yet soft with a melting texture inside. And finally, the sweet-and-sour you need to eat it with. I do not respect the traditional recipe as I do not use sugar, pink pepper nor vodka. Nevertheless, I use beets to color the salt and the salmon surface: the result is outstanding !Ingredients for 8/10 persons :
- 1 salmon filet (2 kg) with skin
- 1 kg white or grey coarse salt
- 3 middle size beets, cooked, peeled and puréed
- 2 large handful dill, chopped
- 2 yolks
- the juice of one lemon
- 4 tbsp Meaux mustard (with mustard seeds)
- 2 tbsp cane sugar
- 20cl olive oil
- some lemon to serve (optional)
- 16 to 20 small potatoes (= 2 per person), cooked and peeled to serve
Recipe:
- The day before or on the same day (remember the salmon will need to stay in the fridge from 9 to 12 hours), mix in a bowl, the salt and the puréed beets
- In a large dish, display a first layer of coarse salt. Lay the salmon filet with its skin facing downwards, then cover with salt again (the salmon should be fully covered)
- Cover the dish with plastic film and place it in the fridge from 9 to 12 hours
- Rinse thoroughly the salmon under cold water and dry it with some paper towel, before slicing it
- In another bowl, mix the mustard, the yolks, the sugar and the lemon juice. Once the mix is homogeneous, pour the olive oil and whisk it till you have a kind of mayonnaise. Add the dill and mix again
- Serve the gravlax with additional lemon and the potatoes (hot or cold)