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Gravadlax

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Gravadlax

In the days before refrigeration, Swedes would bury a whole salmon in the ground to preserve it through the long winter. "The name gravadlax, in fact, means 'salmon from the grave'," explains Swedish chef Christian Sandefeldt. "Nowadays, the fish is buried in a mixture of salt, sugar and dill." His new restaurant Deep is due to open in London at the end of this month and his recipe for gravadlax and sweet mustard sauce is sure to be a favourite with diners.

Preparation time:
20 minutes, plus 48 hours chilling
Total time:
1 hour 8 minutes 60 minutes 10 minutes
Serves:
 6

Ingredients

  • 650g salmon fillet (skin on)
  • 35g granulated sugar
  • 35g sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
  • 50g roughly chopped fresh dill
  • Sweet mustard sauce
  • 5 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 11/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • 175ml vegetable oil
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Trim the salmon, removing any fins and cutting away any bands of pale fat at the edges. Run your fingers over the fish and use tweezers to remove any small bones you come across. In a large bowl, mix the sugar, salt, pepper and dill. Place the salmon in a shallow dish, skin side down. Cover it with the sugar and salt mix and rub in thoroughly. Cover the dish with clingfilm. Place a heavy chopping board or a smaller board weighted down with plates on the fish and transfer the whole thing to the fridge. Compressing the salmon in this way helps to create a firmer, drier gravadlax.
  2. After 24 hours, pour off any liquid from the dish and turn the salmon over. Weigh it down again, return it to the fridge and leave for another 24 hours. The gravadlax is now ready but will keep for another 5 days if left unsliced.
  3. To make the sweet mustard sauce, simply whisk all the ingredients together until smooth. To serve, take a long, sharp knife and slice the fish in thin, diagonal slices. Greasing the knife with a smidgen of oil will make carving easier. Discard the skin. Divide the slices between 6 plates. Add a dollop of the sauce and serve with crispbreads or buttered slices of rye bread.

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This recipe was first published on Waitrose.com in January 2005