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Recipes from <i>The Gentle Art of Preserving</i>

The Gentle Art of Preserving, by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi, Simon & Schuster, $39.99.

Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi

The cure ... Making gravlax (From The Gentle Art of Preserving, Simon & Schuster).
The cure ... Making gravlax (From The Gentle Art of Preserving, Simon & Schuster).Chris Terry (supplied)

Fishermen have made the Nordic dish gravlax since the Middle Ages, traditionally salting and burying the salmon in the sand above the high-tide line. Grav means ‘grave’ and lax means ‘salmon’, hence the term gravlax meaning ‘buried salmon’.

CURED SALMON WITH DILL, MUSTARD AND HONEY SAUCE
I like gravlax quite sweet, so I include more sugar than salt in my curing mixture, however you can use less sugar if you wish and reduce the amount of honey in the sauce. If you run out of dill for the sauce, as I did, simply rinse out the dill from the cure and reuse this for the sauce. My first experiments left the salmon too salty, particularly by the tail where the flesh is thinner. To prevent this, put less salt on the tail area. If you do find the fish tastes too salty, soak it for an hour in cold water after curing to get rid of some of the saltiness.

Serves 10 as a starter

1.5–2kg salmon, filleted

For the cure
100g coarse sea salt
150g caster or granulated sugar
good twist of black pepper
75ml vodka
50g fresh dill, finely chopped

For the sauce
3 tablespoons finely chopped dill
3 tablespoons runny mild honey
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
salt, to taste

Mix up the ingredients for the cure, reserving 25g dill. Sprinkle 1–2 tablespoons of the cure in a large lasagne dish and put in one of the fillets, skin-side down. Sprinkle the rest of the cure on top, reserving 1–2 tablespoons.

Place the remaining fillet of salmon on top, skin-side up, to make a sandwich and sprinkle over the remaining cure.

The Gentle Art of Preserving by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi.
The Gentle Art of Preserving by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi.Supplied
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Cover the dish with clingfilm and rest some weights on top – I use cartons of UHT juice. Transfer the fish to the fridge for 24 hours. Drain off any liquid in the container every 12 hours and turn the fish sandwich over.

After 24 hours, taste a small piece of the salmon. Note that the thinner tail end will be saltier than the centre, so taste a piece from the middle. If it tastes too salty, soak the fish in cold water for an hour. If you are happy with the saltiness, rinse the fish briefly in cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper.

Scatter the reserved dill over the flesh of the fish and sandwich it back together again. Put the salmon into a clean container and cover with clingfilm. Store in the fridge until you are ready to eat it; it will stay good for approx. 10 days.

Gravlax can also be frozen.

To serve, cut the salmon into thin slices on the diagonal with a long, just sharpened knife, starting at the tail end.

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To make the sauce, combine the ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with salt. Accompany with rye bread and lemon wedges.

The Gentle Art of Preserving by Katie & Giancarlo Caldesi, Simon & Schuster Australia, $39.99.

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