Gravlax: Cured Salmon

We have a little tradition at our place - every year we watch the Eurovision final, and every year we cook a meal from the country that is hosting the show. This year was Sweden, so  a Swedish feast was in order.

We started with a lovely entree of Gravlax with a mustard and dill sauce. This is actually very easy to make, though you do have to plan in advance as the curing process takes time. Sadly, my picture does not do the gravlax justice - these are the leftovers from the entree plate!! We were too carried away to take photos earlier lol.

Ingredients

Gravlax ingredients

1kg fresh salmon, filleted and boned, with the skin on.
1/2 cup sea salt
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tsp crushed peppercorns
2 cups chopped fresh dill
fresh dill fronds to garnish

Mustard and dill sauce

100g Swedish mustard (you can substitute dijon if you cannot get Swedish)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
100g fresh dill fronds

Method

To make the gravlax

• Pinbone the salmon to remove any residual bones
•  mix the salt and sugar together.
•  sprinkle half the mixture of sugar/salt onto a sheet of foil. Place the salmon on the mixture, skin side down.
•  sprinkle the crushed pepper and dill on the salmon, then cover with the rest of the sugar/salt mixture. 
•  Wrap the salmon tightly in foil and place in fridge for 48 hours. Turn the salmon once every 12 hours. 

To make the sauce

put the sugar, mustard, vinegar, and salt and pepper, into a bowl and mix together. Slowly drizzle in the oil into the mixture, whisking it all the time until you have a thick and shiny sauce. Stir the dill fronds through the mixture.

To serve

Take the salmon out of the foil and wipe of the remaining curing mixture. Finely slice it from on end at an angle of 45 degrees. The skin will be quite tough, so it is important to remember to only cut off the flesh.

Garnish with dill fronds and serve with the sauce.