I'd love to be able to tell you that this dish was a part of my Christmas when I was growing up, but it wasn't. Many of the Swedish things were lost in the generations between my great-grandmother and myself, but some things I have found easy to assimilate into my adult life - such as Gravlax. (Lax = salmon in Swedish.)

Gravlax is a beautiful thing I think you will agree. I made it on the Solstice for it to be ready for Christmas Eve (the traditional festive time in Sweden.)

Gravlax (Swedish Marinated Salmon)

BTW, this is my entry for this week's Hive account@foodfightfriday

I have my rather inelegant collection of ingredients here... the sugar, salt, dill, buttermilk, liquid smoke (experimental), and (of course) salmon.

I bought two pounds of salmon and cut it in half crosswise. (If you like, it might be better to cut it lengthwise, but I don't have the right shaped container to do it well.)

I placed one of the fillets in my pyrex dish. (It has to be able to fit in the fridge.)

I sprinkled the salmon with:

• 1/4 cup of fine salt (I used a blend of sea salt, Himalayan salt and "real salt".)
• 1/4 cup of sugar

Then I sprinkled the salmon with:

• dill weed (I sprinkled it generously. Fresh would be better, but dried dill works.)

Then I drizzled it with:

• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• liquid smoke
  (I probably should have used a brush here - but it might have messed up the previous ingredients... need to work on that part.)

I placed the other fillet over the first one, then put it in the fridge with a heavy plate on it to compress it. Ideally, the weight would more closely match the shape of the salmon, but it still works.

There, my salmon sat for three days, I guess it was. (Minimum 2 days, maximum 6 days - the longer you leave it, the more salt it absorbs.)

If the salmon looks messy, you can wipe or even rinse off the excess herbs (especially if you're trying to appeal to finicky children.)

Using a filleting knife (or any more flexible blade), slice thinly (at a slant) towards the skin, turning the knife when you reach it. (I hope that makes sense. I need to learn how to do video sometime... maybe I can show you next year!)

You might serve the gravlax with crackers or cucumber slices or as a Swedish smörbrod (open-faced sandwich) or like me, you might just eat it as is, with your fingers! Yum!

My husband found the texture a bit off-putting, but then he's not familiar with European-style smoked salmon which is not cooked, just cured. I think it's delicious!

Please use high-quality fresh salmon for this recipe as it is technically raw at point of consumption.

Recipe Cards

Feel free to print these out for your home use.

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Two of my kitchen witches. One hung in my grandmother's kitchen as long as I can remember, so I have mine - adding a certain magickal spice to my cooking, presumably...
My grandmother's now lives in my mother's kitchen.

Previous recipes in Lori's Cookbook

(Links are for Steem... For Whaleshares and WeKu, simply place whaleshares.io or main.weku.io where the steempeak.com is.)

Holidays (Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc.)

Cranana-Chumpkin Bread
Cranberry-Berry Sauce (canning too)
Cranberry Juice Drink
Crustless Pumpkin Pie

Breakfasts

Basic French Toast
Buttermilk Pancakes - including low-carb and grain-free options.

Appetizers

Marinated Olives & Nuts

Easy Suppers

Dirty Mac & Cheese
Simple Cheeseburgers
Spanish Rice
Italian Meatballs
Spaghetti and Meatballs

Main Courses

Battered & Fried Prawns & Zukes
Fathead Stromboli
Garlic Curry Baked Drumsticks

Drinks

Cranberry Juice Drink

Side Dishes

Turmeric Rice
Garlic-Herb Bread

Breads

Cranana-Chumpkin Bread
No-Knead Bread
Fathead Dough - a grain free substitute for many bread situations!

Snacks

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sauces

Spaghetti Sauce
Basic Salsa
Garlic-Herb Butter

Desserts

Crustless Pumpkin Pie
Peach Cornmeal Cobbler
Peach Crisp
Tapioca Pudding

DIY Ingredients

Buttermilk

Canning

Rebel Canning - a general guide about what I do, and why I don't always follow USDA guidelines.
Cranberry-Berry Sauce
Cranberry Juice Drink
Meatballs and Spaghetti Sauce

Note: All photos are mine - Samsung NX11 - December 2019

Crossposted at Steem, Whaleshares, WeKu

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Lori Svensen
author/designer at A'mara Books
photographer/graphic artist for Viking Visual
(Buy my work at RedBubble)
verified author on Goodreads
find me on Twitter
blogging on: Steem, Whaleshares, WeKu

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