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Gravlax

Gravlax is surprisingly easy to make at home, and you can vary the herbs or add spices to suit your taste. Once you become comfortable with the process, you’ll want to have this around for easy lunches and snacks.

Ingredients

1 (16-ounce) section of salmon fillet, cut from middle, skin on
1 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon coarsely ground pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (any combination of dill, tarragon, chervil, and basil)
Grated zest of 1 medium lemon (about 2 teaspoons)

Preparation

  1. Place the salmon on a plate. Use tweezers, pincers, or needle-nose pliers to remove visible bones. Mix all the remaining ingredients together and gently pack onto the fish. Wrap the fish in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours, or up to 12 hours. Brush off the salt mixture, lightly rinse the fish, and pat dry with paper towels. Dry the salmon in the refrigerator, uncovered, overnight. To serve, cut the salmon into thin slices. Wrapped in plastic, the uncut salmon will last up to 5 days refrigerated. Slices will oxidize quicker—they should be eaten in 1 to 2 days.

From Crescent City Cooking by Susan Spicer Copyright (c) 2007 by Susan Spicer Published by Knopf. Susan Spicer was born in Key West, Florida, and lived in Holland until the age of seven, when her family moved to New Orleans. She has lived there ever since, and is the owner of two restaurants, Bayona and Herbsaint. This is her first cookbook. Paula Disbrowe was the former Cowgirl Chef at Hart & Hind Fitness Ranch in Rio Frio, Texas. Prior to that, she spent ten years working as a food and travel writer. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Food & Wine, and Saveur, among other major publications.
TagsSalmonFishSeafoodLemonCitrusFruitDillHerbs & SpicesTarragonChervilBasilSnackMainKetoEasyMake AheadMeal Prep5 Ingredients or FewerNo-CookCookbooks
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