Gravadlax

Tamara West

New Zealand and Scandinavia have a lot in common when it comes to food – top quality seafood, excellent farming, great vegetables to make the most of, and also a tradition of simple home cooking. So ultra-hip Scandinavian food can certainly lend us a few ideas. This gravadlax recipe is a fairly traditional Scandinavian recipe that has as much appeal today as it had for hundreds of years. NZ salmon cured this way is lusciously silky and mellow.

Ingredients

1 side	Salmon, about 750g with skin on (Main)
¼ cup	Salt
¼ cup	Sugar
½ cup	Fresh dill, chopped
1 tsp	White pepper, ground

Directions

1. Trim salmon and remove any bones.
2. Mix together the salt, sugar and pepper, sprinkle some in a glass or china dish, and lay the salmon, skin side down, on the mixture. Sprinkle the rest on the salmon. Scatter half the dill on the salmon too, reserving the remainder.
3. Press plastic wrap on to the salmon, place a board or flat dish on top of the fish and weight it lightly with a tin or bottle, then wrap the whole dish. Refrigerate for 24-36 hours, turning the salmon over halfway through.
4. Gently rinse the salt mixture off the salmon and pat it dry. Place in a new dish and press the rest of the dill on to the cured flesh.
5. Slice gravadlax very thinly to serve.