After lots of travels round California and more problems than I wish to recount with a new wireless router, a laptop that expired without wrning, and many days in the shop for my desktop computer, I am finally back at my desk. This post has been sitting unedited since Christmas, but the food is not just for the holidays, and it’s not just for celebrations.
Two of my children and their families visited us during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Even though they returned home before New Year’s Day, we tried to have some of the family favorites from New Year’s Eve buffets of the past. Gravlax definitely made the cut, although our pregnant daughter opted out for health reasons.
The recipe for gravlax originally came from the volume, Cooking of Scandinavia, from the Time-Life series of Foods of the World published in 1968 and subsequently made it – with revisions – into our family cookbook, Let’s Cook! Let’s Eat!
The sauce is the recipe of a very old and dear friend from Sweden. We first had it as part of a lavish spread at her house celebrating Saint Lucia Day. We had it again years later when Elisabet and her husband visited us in Louisiana. She thought the sauce would go well with the crawfish boil we prepared in their honor. She was right, and I was lucky enough to talk her out of the recipe. It goes well with many fish dishes, and it will keep for along time in the refrigerator.
RECIPES
Gravlax
Ingredients
- 1 salmon filet, skin on (about 1½ to 2 pounds)
- 1 large bunch fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons whole black peppercorns, crushed
- ¼ cup kosher salt
- ¼ cup sugar
Method
- Make sure scales and fine bones have been removed. Just to be sure, rub your finger lightly over the fish. If you find tiny little white bones, remove them with tweezers or fine-nosed pliers. Cut the filet into two pieces of equal length.
- Arrange the wider filet, skin-side down, in the bottom of a glass or ceramic dish that will hold the fish flat. Place the bunch of fresh dill on the filet. Cover with the other half of the fish, skin-side up.
- Crush the pepper in a zippered plastic bag, and then combine with the salt and sugar. Sprinkle the mixture over the salmon and dill. Cover the dish tightly with plastic wrap and weight down with a heavy pan, brick or rock, or several cans of food. Place in the refrigerator
- Turn the fish two or three times a day for 3 days, replacing the plastic and weight each time before returning to the refrigerator.
- A liquid marinade will develop. Spoon over the fish each time that you turn it.
- When you are ready to serve, remove from dish and scrape off the dill and any remainders of the salt and peppercorns. Place the salmon on a carving board, skin-side down. With a very sharp, straight-edge knife, slice the salmon into very thin diagonal slices, detaching them from the skin.
- Serve with thin slices of rye bread and Elisabet’s mustard and dill sauce.
Elisabet’s Mustard and Dill Sauce
Ingredients
- ½ cup prepared mustard
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup vinegar
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup salad oil
- finely chopped dill fronds, to taste
Method
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mustards, vinegar, and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved
- Whisk continuously while adding the oil gradually in a thin stream.
- Add chopped dill fronds to taste. The dill flavor will intensify as the sauce sits for a few minutes before serving.
From the Family Table 