Recipes for Starters

WHY GRAVADLAX? My grandfather was Danish, born in a windswept little town on the North Sea. Whether it was chance, fate or good fortune that lead him to marry a Melbourne girl, he ended up in Australia, and apart from a handful of brief visits, he never really went home again. In his dotage, with my grandmother long-dead, he slowly succumbed to a wistful sort of homesickness, and in the year before he died, he would spend hours sitting on a bench ...
...unable to articulate his loss. Certain things cheered him, however, and my mother's Gravadlax was amongst them…

For the purposes of this review, Gravadlax is a Scandinavian dish that involves curing the freshest possible salmon in a mixture of spices, fresh dill, white wine and vodka. It is Most Definitively Not that which can be found in the cold & fishy aisle of your local supermarket, vacuum-sealed in plastic, sometimes fringed ... more

WHY GRAVADLAX? My grandfather was Danish, born in a windswept little town on the North Sea. Whether it was chance, fate or good fortune that lead him to marry a Melbourne girl, he ended up in Australia, and apart from a handful of brief visits, he never really went home again. In his dotage, with my grandmother long-dead, he slowly succumbed to a wistful sort of homesickness, and in the year before he died, he would spend hours sitting on a bench on Melbourne's Brighton Beach, gazing forlornly out to sea, quite unable to articulate his loss. Certain things cheered him, however, and my mother's Gravadlax was amongst them…

For the purposes of this review, Gravadlax is a Scandinavian dish that involves curing the freshest possible salmon in a mixture of spices, fresh dill, white wine and vodka. It is Most Definitively Not that which can be found in the cold & fishy aisle of your local supermarket, vacuum-sealed in plastic, sometimes fringed with dill, or accompanied by a sickly little pocket of dirty-looking, mustardy sauce. Gravadlax is a labour of love, a delectably satisfying reward for care, attention, and a free hand with the vodka… Supermarket Gravadlax, to me, is little more than a Frankenstinian form of smoked-salmon; too pink, too plasticky, and all-too-likely to have been farmed in the sorts of places the Daily Mail's Health-Scares would be lost without. Real Gravadlax, on the other hand, is plump and rosy and redolent of the sea, of fresh, salty breezes, and of Christmas…

CHRISTMAS: Every Christmas, in honour of my grandfather, and perhaps as a conciliatory nod to her fragile Scandinavian heritage, my mother would order a large slab of salmon and make a Gravadlax, which would then be served alongside all the usual, Anglo-Saxon suspects on Christmas Day. By the 'usual suspects' I refer, of course, to turkey, ham, over-boiled vegetables, and over-boiled puddings. For those of you who have never had the dubious pleasure of eating a hot, four-course lunch in temperatures exceeding 35C, let me assure you, you really have been spared a revolting ordeal. And astonishingly, this is still precisely what a Christmas lunch in Australia generally entails. Open-minded types are gradually introducing Prawn Cocktails into the mix, and there are seasonally-recurrent rumours of people who even barbeque their Christmas Dinners, but these remain unsubstantiated… Point being, the average fare served up to Australians on Christmas Day differs very little from that served up in Edinburgh, or the Midlands, or anywhere else in the British Isles, and in this case, what's good for the proverbial goose is just Plain Wrong for the gander. Enter Gravadlax; the perfect dish for the perfect occasion. With my mother's perfectly tempered mustard & dill sauce (more on this later…), and a few slices of rye, or fresh baguette, it is generally served as a starter… but if I had my way, it would always be the Main.

INSTRUCTIONS: Gravadlax usually takes two to three days to prepare. It's probably worth ordering the salmon well in advance, in order to be sure of its presence, as much as its provenance! Only the very best quality, sushi-grade salmon will do. The cut used should always be that neat, centre part, unencumbered by the untidiness of a head or tail. Ideally, it should be about 11 inches long and 9" across, in order to fit comfortably into a casserole dish. If possible, to make matters easier, get the fishmonger to slice the fish, lengthways, into two equal parts and to de-bone it for you, but other than rough scaling, leave the skin well alone. The resultant portions, when stacked back together, should resemble a sort of fat & fishy ciabatta. If de-boning yourself, use tweezers and proceed with care. Stray bones in Gravadlax are a Very Bad Thing indeed. Not only do they present the very real possibility of an unintentional homicide, they can make the finished, cured fish almost impossible to slice neatly, and thus, to look suitably pretty on the plate.

THE CURE: As said, allow for at least two days to complete the curing process. It's perfectly acceptable to eat it after 24 hours, it just won't be as intensely cured. Other than the salmon, you'll require the following ingredients;

1/4 Cup Sea/Rock Salt
1/4 Cup Sugar
1-2 Tablespoons Crushed Peppercorns
2 bunches Fresh Dill, stalk-ends removed.
1/4 Cup Aquavit or Vodka
1/4 Cup White Wine

1) Lay a long sheet of cling film across the casserole dish, and place one side of salmon on top, skin side down. Place the second side of salmon onto a separate dish.
2) Mix the salt, sugar and crushed peppercorns together, and spread them evenly across the two pieces of salmon. If desired, you can also add a little lemon zest at this stage. Press one bunch of dill on top of each side of salmon.
3) Mix the wine and Vodka together in a jug & pour over.
4) Carefully lift the second piece of salmon and press on top of the piece in the casserole dish, also transferring across any excess liquid.
5) Pull up the cling film to cover and wrap. Press down and cover with a plate large enough to cover the salmon, and weigh down with something suitably heavy. I usually use whatever I have to hand, even tinned food if necessary, although obviously kitchen weights are best. Place in the refrigerator & erm…get on with your life!

TWELVE HOURS LATER: Remove the weights, unwrap, and carefully turn the salmon over, so that the top side is now underneath and vice-versa. Baste with the accumulated liquid. Re-wrap, replace weights and return to the fridge. Repeat this process every 12 hours over the next two days.

CURED! Your Gravadlax is now complete. Remove from the casserole, and separate into two halves. Discard the dill & scrape off any excess cure mix. Now for the tricky bit! Make sure you have a very sharp carving knife. Slice the fish as thinly as possible across the top, so that your knife is almost flat on the fish. There may be some white, fatty strips along the edges; discard these, or give them to the cat. Arrange the slices on a serving platter.

THE SAUCE: This Dill and Mustard Sauce is foolproof, very quick to prepare & the perfect accompaniment to Gravadlax. It will keep in the fridge for at least a couple of days, as will the fish. You will need the following ingredients;

2 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp Mustard powder
1 Tbs White wine or Cider vinegar
1 Tbs caster sugar
6 Tbs sunflower oil
1 Tbs finely chopped, fresh dill
salt and pepper

1) Mix the sugar and mustard powder in a bowl with the vinegar. It is important to use caster sugar, as ordinary sugar takes a little while to dissolve and can make the sauce a little granular.
2) Beat in the oil gradually, until you have a smooth, glossy mixture.
3) Chop the dill very finely, discarding any stalks. Stir into the mustard sauce, and season.

FINALLY… Serve your Gravadlax very simply, arranged on a large platter, with the sauce in a boat on the side, and plenty of really good quality bread, preferably light rye, sliced. Garnish the fish with some thinly sliced lemon, a little more fresh dill, and a few capers. The lemon isn't strictly necessary, and the capers aren't strictly traditional, but I think their saltiness cuts through the intense, succulent sweetness of the salmon very nicely.

Now it's simply a matter of putting a nice, plump slice of the Gravadlax on to some bread, and drizzling with the sauce. The fish is softer than smoked salmon, with an almost juicy texture to it that is more akin to that of sashimi. It is sweet, but with quite a sharp and spicy tang. And it will quite literally melt in your mouth.

VELBEKOMME! I live in Suffolk now, quite near to the coast. Sometimes I take my little boy down to the pebbly beach at Old Felixstowe, where he tosses pebbles into the water, and watches the big ships from the Port of Harwich, gliding out across the grey sea towards Esbjerg, just over the way. And somehow, I feel quite certain that my grandfather would approve.
 

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