Salmon gravadlax
Beetroot, horseradish, vodka & dill cure, quick cucumber pickle & dill yoghurt
30 mins plus curing
Not Too Tricky
serves 8
Ingredients
200g raw beetroot
100g rock salt
50g demerara sugar
50ml vodka
1 big bunch of fresh dill (60g)
2 lemons
50g fresh or jarred grated horseradish
1 x 1kg side of salmon, skin on, scaled, pin-boned
2 large cucumbers
red wine vinegar
½ a fresh red chilli
4 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Peel and trim the beets and place in a food processor with the salt, sugar, vodka and a few sprigs of dill.
- Finely grate in the zest of 1 lemon, add the horseradish (finely grating if using fresh), then blitz until combined.
- Rub a little mixture on to the salmon skin, then place the salmon on a large tray, skin-side down, and pat the remaining mixture all over it so that the flesh is completely covered.
- Cover the tray tightly with tin foil. Pop a weight on top to help pack everything down evenly, then put the whole thing into the fridge for 36 hours to cure. Please use your instincts here – if you have a particularly chunky side of salmon you may want to leave it for up to 48 hours.
- Once cured, unwrap the fish then, holding the fillet in place, pour the juices down the sink and rub away all the salty topping (it’s messy, so you might want to wear gloves).
- Pat the fillet dry with kitchen paper. Pick and finely chop most of the remaining dill, scatter it over the salmon flesh, then tightly wrap in tin foil once again. Put back into the fridge until needed, where it will keep happily for up to 2 weeks.
- On the day you’re going to serve the salmon, scratch the outside of the cucumbers with a fork to create grooves, then finely slice at an angle and place in a bowl with a pinch of sea salt and 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Deseed, finely slice and add the chilli, roughly chop and add a few fronds of dill, then toss together.
- Place the yoghurt in a small bowl, finely chop and add the remaining dill fronds. Finely grate in the zest of ½ a lemon, squeeze in the juice and drizzle in 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, then stir together well.
- When you’re ready to serve, use a long sharp knife to slice the salmon thinly at an angle and, as the knife touches the skin each time, kink it off, lifting away the salmon. Arrange the slices on a board or platter as you go, then dish up with dollops of dill yoghurt, slices of cucumber pickle and lemon wedges, for squeezing over.
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