Ingredients Print

Check off ingredients as you go

• 1 kg (2.2 lb) boneless, very fresh salmon fillet (that you have frozen beforehand)
• 5 Tbsp coarse salt
• 5 Tbsp sugar (preferably light brown)
• 1/2 bunch dill, roughly chopped
• 1 level tsp fennel seeds
• 1 Tbsp pink peppercorns
• A little beet juice (optional, for color)

If you change the number of serving, consider adjusting cooking times!

Here is an easy, good-looking recipe that always makes a beautiful impression! Gravlax has a silky, cured flesh thanks to the marinating step. You can make it between 24 and 72 hours (max) ahead.

A bit of background: gravlax is different from smoked salmon or salmon carpaccio. All its flavor comes from the mix of sugar, salt and aromatics that lets the salmon cure and take on that lovely deep color.

1. In a bowl, mix the salt, sugar, pink peppercorns and fennel seeds. In a glass dish, lay the first half of the salmon fillet (flesh side up), rinsed and patted dry beforehand, then spread the mixture over the fillet, add the dill and put some of the salt mixture on the second fillet. Gently pour a little beet juice over it to color the fillet nicely. Close it up like a sandwich by placing one fillet on top of the other (skin side up).

2. Cover with plastic wrap and place a dish on top (this will weigh down the fish and help the fillets cure against each other).

3. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours and up to 72 hours. The salmon will release some liquid, which is normal; you can pour it off and flip the fillets so the top one ends up in the other one’s place.

4. Once cured, your salmon will have a glossy, silky flesh.

5. When you’re ready to serve it, take the fish out well chilled, gently wipe off the excess cure, rinse it well, then pat it dry and slice it thinly (about 1 cm / ⅜ inch thick) and arrange on a plate. Serve with fresh dill, lemon and a Swedish honey mustard sauce.

Tips

• You can vary the herbs and spices to your taste. You can even add a shot of vodka, pastis or arak to this cure.

If you’d rather have a quick fish dish instead of a cured one, you will probably love the salmon carpaccio with pink peppercorns and lime.

🐟 To learn more about fish in Israel, I wrote a practical guide and a French-Hebrew fish glossary so you can find your way around and discover the choice available to you!