Gravlax - Graavilohi

I love Christmas and its preparations, the festivity and the feel of waiting. How early do you start to preparing for your Christmas? This post is a part of my annual Christmas series on the blog! Check my Christmas Calendar, too!

If there is one food I have to have on Christmas, it's gravlax. Gravlax is salt-cured salmon. We Nordics love it and eat it both on Christmas and Midsummer. It's very easy to make yourself! Here's how:

You buy a piece of fresh salmon filee (preferably a thick piece, as it's easier to cut nice slices from a thick piece). Then you sprinkle on some coarse salt (1-2 Tbsp/kg fish) and if you want 1 tsp sugar/kg fish and lots of chopped dill. Then you pack it tightly and put it in fridge to cure for 18 (-24) hours. If the time gets longer, the fish will get too salty, so you should start the curing according to when you are serving it. If you have to cure it earlier, take away the excess salt after 18 hours and wrap the fish again to wait in fridge.

When you're about to serve the fish, take away excess salt and cut the fish to thin slices (this is the most difficult part of this recipe, at least for me). Serve with a mustard sauce. That's it. It's good on archipelago bread or any other slightly sweet dark bread (like this or this).

What is your must-have food on Christmas? Please comment below :)

Happy cooking!

Gravlax - Salt-cured salmon
Author: Tuulia / Kitchenfoxtales     Preparation Time: 10 min     Curing time: 18 h
Servings: 500 g will suffice for 4-6 as a starter     Calories* per serving: 107 kcal

An essential part of the Nordic Christmas table, although eaten year-round.

Ingredients:

• a piece of salmon, as fresh as possible (preferably at least 500 g)
• 1-2 Tbsp coarse sea salt per kg fish
• (1 tsp sugar per kg fish, optional)
• (2 dl chopped fresh dill per kg fish, optional)
• (white pepper)

Instructions:

1. Prepare the fish: remove any visible bones and pat the fish dry.
2. Sprinkle on the salt (and sugar and a pinch of white pepper). Finish with dill.
3. Place the fish on a deep plate and cover with foil or cling-film.
4. Place in fridge under a small weight and leave to cure for 18(-24) hours (the time depends a bit on the thickness of the fish, but don't exceed 24 hours, as the fish will start to get too salty after that time).
5. Remove the excess salt e.g. with kitchen paper and cut the fish into thin slices. You can cut slightly diagonal, so the slices will be bigger and look nicer.
6. Serve with a mustard sauce.

*Nutritional information is based on average values and is a rough estimate.

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