Best Gravadlax Recipes

GRAVADLAX

Steps:

• Pat the salmon dry with kitchen paper and run your hands over the flesh to see if there are any stray small bones - if there are, use a pair of tweezers to pull them out. Set the salmon fillets aside.
• Tip the salt, sugar, peppercorns, lemon zest, juniper and dill into a food processor and blitz until you have a bright green, wet salt mixture or 'cure'. Unravel some cling film but keep it attached to the roll. Lay the first fillet of salmon skin-side down and then pack the cure over the flesh. Drizzle with gin, if using and top with the 2nd fillet, flesh-side down. Roll the sandwiched fillets tightly in cling film to create a package.
• Place the fish in a shallow baking dish or shallow-sided tray and lay another tray on top. Weigh the tray down with a couple of tins or bottles and place in the fridge for at least 48 hrs or up to 4 days, turning the fish over every 12 hours or so. The longer you leave it, the more cured it will become.
• To make the sauce, tip all the sauce ingredients into a blender. Blitz until you have a thickened dressing.
• To serve, unwrap the fish and brush off the marinade with kitchen paper. Rinse it if you like. You can slice the fish classically into long thin slices, leaving the skin behind, or remove the skin it and slice it straight down. Serve the sliced fish on a large platter or individual plates with pumpernickel bread, dill and mustard sauce.

CITRUS-CURED SALMON GRAVADLAX

Steps:

• Tip all the ingredients for the salt mix into a food processor and whizz until everything is combined and the spices are completely ground.
• Stroke your hand along the salmon fillet to check for any stray bones. If you find any, pull them out with a pair of tweezers or small pliers.
• To skin the salmon fillet, lay the fish skin-side down with the tail end closest to you. Insert your knife at an angle at the tail end and cut through the flesh to the skin. Turn the blade so it's almost flat against the skin, then take hold of the skin with the other hand. Pull and wiggle the skin towards you so as to cut the fillet away. Halfway through removing the skin, hold the knife firmly and flip the fillet over. Gently lift the fillet away from the skin and discard the skin. Trim away the thinner part, plus any fat around the edges, so that the fillet has an even shape.
• Scatter about a third of the salt mix onto a large tray in a line about the size of the salmon fillet. Lay the salmon, skinned-side down, over the salt and pack the rest of the salt on top. Cover with cling film, put another tray on top and weigh it down with a few cans or an empty casserole dish. Leave in the fridge overnight or for at least 10 hrs.
• Under cold running water, wash the salt mix off the salmon fillet, then dry with kitchen paper. Finely chop the dill. Lay the salmon on a board and cover with the dill, pressing it down to pack it onto the salmon.
• If serving as a plated starter, use a sharp carving knife to cut the salmon straight down into fine slices, allowing 6 slices for each plate.
• To make the horseradish cream, whisk together the cream and crème fraîche. Add the horseradish, lemon juice and seasoning, then continue to whisk until thick. Dress the salad leaves in a little olive oil. You are now ready to plate up.
• Arrange a neat pile of baby salad leaves in the centre of each plate. Curl slices of the salmon into bow shapes around the leaves. Continue all the way around the plate in a petal fashion. Use 2 teaspoons to make small quenelles of horseradish cream and spoon each into each bowl.

CREAMY CUCUMBER WITH GRAVADLAX

Steps:

• Peel alternate strips of skin off the cucumber and halve lengthways. Scoop away the seeds with a teaspoon, slice the cucumber on an angle, then place in a colander or sieve set above a bowl. Remove the outer layer of fennel and quarter the bulb. Cut away the core, then slice the fennel as finely as possible. Tip the fennel in with the cucumber, season generously with salt, then leave to macerate for 10 mins.
• When the vegetables have been salted, taste a piece of cucumber. If it's too salty, give them a rinse. But if it's fine, then just squeeze them gently. In a separate bowl, stir together the cream, vinegar, mustard and dill, and season with a grind of black pepper. Toss the vegetables into the creamy dressing and serve with a few slices of gravadlax, a sprinkling of dill and some buttered brown bread.

POTATO & DILL PANCAKES WITH GRAVADLAX

Steps:

• Cook the potato whole for about 12 mins, until tender but not cooked all the way through. Cool under cold water, then grate with the skin on - you'll need 150g (5 ¼oz) grated potato. Tip the flour into a large bowl with a pinch of salt and crack in the eggs. Whisk until lump-free. Gradually add the milk, whisking well. Add the potato, dill and the baking powder and stir well.
• Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook 2 tbsp of the batter at a time. When you see tiny bubbles appear on the top, turn and cook on the other side for about 1 min. Keep warm while you cook the rest.
• Meanwhile, mix the salad ingredients. Serve the pancakes topped with gravadlax and the mixed salad.

GRAVADLAX WITH CELERIAC & FENNEL SALAD

Steps:

• Make the dressing first. Put the mustard, honey, garlic, vinegar and some seasoning in a cup, and whisk in the oil in a steady stream. Stir in the cream, then check the seasoning - it should be sweet-sour.
• Put some of the lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Peel the celeriac and cut the flesh into matchsticks, tossing these in the lemon juice as you go to stop the flesh discolouring.
• Quarter the fennel and remove any coarse outer leaves. Trim the tips, reserving any tufty fronds. Cut out the core from each piece. Using a very sharp knife or a mandolin, slice the fennel lengthways - the slices should be almost transparent. Toss with the celeriac and add some more lemon juice.
• Cut the onion as finely as possible (it's best to do this on a mandolin too). Halve the apples, core and cut into matchsticks (there's no need to peel them). Add to the bowl with the onions, and add a little more lemon juice (to keep the apple from turning brown). Chop any fennel fronds and add along with the dill. Toss with the dressing.
• Divide the salad between eight plates with some gravadlax alongside, or serve the gravadlax and offer the salad in a large bowl.

GRAVADLAX TEMPTATION

Steps:

• Peel potatoes and cut into very thin chips. A mandolin makes this easy; otherwise thinly slice, stack them and cut through the stack into sticks. Put the chips in a bowl and cover with cold salted water.
• Cut the gravadlax into wide strips. Finely chop the onions. Melt a large knob of butter in a small pan, add the onion and fry for 5 mins. Butter the inside of a shallow ovenproof dish, about 1.2 litre capacity. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.
• Drain potatoes and spread one third over the dish. Season well. Scatter half the gravadlax and onion on top, then cover with another third of the potatoes. Scatter over remaining gravadlax and onion. Cover with remaining potatoes and season well. Warm cream and milk in a small pan until it simmers, then pour over the potatoes. Dot the top with butter and bake for 1 hr until potatoes are tender and the top golden. Cool for 5 mins before serving with a green vegetable such as broccoli or snap peas.

GRAVADLAX WITH DILL CRêPES, CHILLI & CHIVE CREAM AND PICKLED ONION

Steps:

• First, make the crêpe batter. Sift the flour into a bowl with a pinch of salt. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the eggs, egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk together the wet ingredients, gradually drawing the flour into the mix until you have a thick, smooth batter, then stir in the rest of the milk and most of the dill. Cover and leave in the fridge until you are ready to make the crêpes.
• Meanwhile, make the pickled onion. Put the onion in a small heatproof bowl. Heat the vinegar and sugar with 100ml water and a pinch of salt in a saucepan until the sugar and salt have dissolved. Pour over the onion and leave to cool. Drain the onion, then cover and chill.
• Mix all the ingredients for the cream in a bowl and season generously. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
• Heat oven to 110C/90C fan/gas 1⁄4. Heat a crêpe (or frying) pan over a medium heat and wipe with oiled kitchen paper. Tip half a ladle of batter into the pan and swirl the pan to spread the batter into a thin, even layer. Cook for 30-45 secs until the base is golden and bubbles start to break on the surface. Flip over with a spatula and cook for another 30 secs.
• Layer the cooked crêpes between sheets of baking parchment and keep warm in the oven while you cook the rest. To serve, spoon a little chive cream onto a crêpe along with slices of gravadlax, the pickled onion, remaining dill and chilli, if using. Serve with lemon wedges.

HORSERADISH LATKES WITH AVOCADO, GRAVADLAX & POACHED EGGS

Steps:

• Grate the potatoes on the coarse side of a box grater straight onto a clean tea towel. Gather the tea towel together and squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the potatoes. Tip the potatoes into a bowl and add the flour, 1 egg, the horseradish and most of the chives (reserve some to serve). Season with salt and white pepper - white pepper is hotter than black, so go easy. Mix well.
• Heat the oven to its lowest setting, with a tray on one shelf. Heat the oil in a large frying pan - it should completely cover the base. Have a plate covered with kitchen paper ready. When the oil is hot, spoon mounds of the potato mixture into the pan - they should be about 10cm wide. Press them down with the back of a fish slice and cook for 3-4 mins each side, or until golden brown and crispy, and the potato is cooked through. Transfer them to the kitchen paper to drain off the excess oil, then keep warm on the tray while you continue cooking until all the mixture is used up (make 6 latkes in total).
• Heat a large pan of water until bubbles are just breaking the surface but it's not rapidly boiling, then add the vinegar. Crack an egg into a small bowl, then drop the egg into the pan. Do the same with the remaining egg, cook for 2-3 mins until poached to your liking, then scoop out in the same order you dropped them in and drain on kitchen paper. Halve and stone the avocado, then ease a dessertspoon between the skin and the flesh to remove each half. Slice the avocado, then squeeze over the lemon juice.
• To serve, arrange the latkes over two plates, and top with the gravadlax, avocado and poached eggs. Scatter with the remaining chives, the lemon zest and a little black pepper, if you like.