Attempting Gravlax…

Lent. Otherwise known as the 40-day push for expanding your fish horizons, right? Why else would I think it perfectly reasonable to make gravlax, just for an appetizer, just for one night, just for two people? But, I am glad that Lent pushed me to attempt it.

Gravlax, ready to cure

After the first night, I found myself having this for breakfast with eggs, as a snack on crackers with a horseradish-dill sour cream sauce, on buttered toast anytime, and, well, serving it with just about anything and everything. And it worked!

Coriander-Dill Gravlax, adapted from Fish Without a Doubt.

• 1/2 cup coarse salt
• 3/8 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup packed chopped fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons toasted coriander seeds, ground in a spice grinder
• 1 (1.5-pound) piece wild salmon fillet, skin on, pinbones removed

First, mix the salt, sugar, dill and coriander in a bowl. Next, cut a strip of plastic wrap a little more than twice the length of the salmon and set it on a baking dish. Cut a second strip, this time a little more than twice the width of the salmon, and set it cross-wise on the center of the first piece. After the plastic wrap is ready, spread about 1/3 of the salt cure across the center of the plastic and set the salmon on top of it. Then, cover the salmon with the remainder of the cure and wrap the plastic tightly around the fish. Set a second baking dish/sheet on top of the salmon package, placing weights on top. I used a few cans of tomatoes, which seemed to work perfectly fine. At this point, the baking dish contraption should go into the refrigerator; it should refrigerate for 36 hours. The salmon will give off a lot of liquid, and it can be poured off halfway through the cure if desired. Once cured, after 36 hours, scrape off the solids and rinse the salmon, drying it well with paper towels. It can be served immediately, or wrapped tightly with plastic wrap and kept for about a week. Enjoy!