Gravlax

Ingredients

• 2¼ lbsalmon filletfresh, skin-on, ideally centre cut; pin bones removed
• 2⅛ ozsaltcoarse, for the cure; a little extra to season the sauce
• 1⅓ ozsugarfor the cure; plus 1–2 tbsp for the mustard sauce
• 3 bunchdillroughly chopped for the cure, a small part finely chopped for the sauce
• 1 tbsppeppercornswhite or black, coarsely crushed in a mortar
• 3 tbspMustardDijon or medium-hot mustard, for the sauce
• 2 tbspvinegarfor the sauce
• 6 tbspOilneutral, for the sauce
• 2 tbspginor vodka; drizzled over the flesh side (optional)
• 1 tbspjuniper berrieslightly crushed, for the cure (optional)
• 1 tspcoriander seedscoarsely crushed, for the cure (optional)
• 1lemonzest grated into the cure; lime works too (optional)

Method

1. Rinse the salmon fillet under cold water, pat it thoroughly dry and pull out any remaining pin bones with tweezers.
2. Coarsely crush the peppercorns in a mortar, together with lightly crushed juniper berries and coriander seeds if you like. Mix everything with the sea salt, the sugar and, if using, the grated lemon zest.
3. Lay the salmon skin side down in a shallow dish. If you like, drizzle the flesh side with gin or vodka. Rub the salt mixture evenly into the fish and scatter the roughly chopped dill on top. If you are using two fillets, place them flesh sides together.
4. Cover the fish with cling film, lay a board on top and weigh it down with tins or other weights.
5. Leave the salmon to cure in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours. Turn it now and then and baste it with the brine that collects in the dish.
6. For the sauce, stir the white wine vinegar with the sugar until it dissolves, then add the mustard. Gradually whisk in the vegetable oil, season with sea salt and pepper, and fold in the finely chopped dill.
7. Scrape the cure off the salmon and pat the fish dry.
8. Using a long, sharp knife, cut the salmon at an angle across the grain into paper-thin slices, working them off the skin, and serve with the sauce.

Tips and variations

For a sharper version, cure the salmon with gin and juniper but no dill, and serve it with a sauce of soured cream, Dijon mustard and salt. Vodka and fennel seeds in the cure work well too. For pepper salmon, cure it with several kinds of pepper and chilli, then sprinkle it with a dill and pepper mixture once cured. For a lighter sauce, use quark and yoghurt and serve boiled potatoes in their skins alongside. To serve, white bread or potato pancakes are a good match, or a wild herb salad with fried mushrooms.