Gravlax

Gravlax, also known as gravad lax or gravlaks (in Danish and Norwegian), means buried fish. It is a Scandinavian appetizer consisting of thin sashimi-like slices of salmon cured in salt, sugar and dill.

During the Middle Ages, gravlax was made by fishermen by salting the salmon and lightly fermenting it by burying it in the sand above the high-tide line. The word gravlax comes from the Scandinavian words grav, which means literally "grave" or "hole in the ground".

Today, gravlax is made by curing salmon in sugar salt, pepper and dill and takes only 2-3 days to finish.

To make the gravlax, I went with the basic recipe from an old Scandinavian cookbook and started with a 3 lb peice of wild caught salmon.

Cover the salmon - skin side down - with a mixture of salt, sugar,and pepper - covered with fresh dill. Wrap the salmon with plastic wrap and put a weight on top of the filet. This needs to cure for 2.5 - 3 days.
The final step is to rinse off the cure and remove the dill. Slice thinly with a sharp knife and serve with a mustard and dill sauce, or fresh lemon.

Gravlax Recipe
1-cup salt
1-cup sugar
Pepper to taste
1 bunch dill rinsed
One 2- to 3-pound fillet of salmon, pin bones removed

1. Mix together the salt, sugar and pepper.

2. Place the salmon, skin side down in a shallow baking dish, and cover with the spice mixture

3. Lay dill on top of fillet and wrap with plastic wrap.

4. Put weights (bricks or cans covered with foil) on top of wrapped fillet and let rest in refrigerator for at least 48 hours.