Email to Linda Leone      

Quick Gravlax

Source of Recipe

Julia Childs


Recipe Introduction

Yield: 10 to 12 slices, serving 8 or more an as appetizer

List of Ingredients

1 pound salmon fillet, trimmed and boned
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cognac, in a small dish,
or more if needed
1 bunch fresh, clean dill sprigs

For serving
Cucumber Ribbons, optional (recipe follows)
Breads and other accompaniments [as noted above]

Special equipment
A large serving platter; plastic wrap




Recipe


Slice the salmon as thinly as possible [photo in cookbook]. You should have 10 or more slices, each about 1 1/2 ounces. Or maybe you can cajole your fish man, the way I do, into slicing the salmon for you. Stir together the salt and sugar in a small bowl. Lay all the salmon slices flat on a large cutting board or clean work surface. Sprinkle each slice with a pinch or two of the salt-sugar mix – you should use half the mix, about a teaspoon in all.
Then moisten the slices with cognac, dipping your finger into the dish and rubbing a few drops over the surface of each. When all the slices are coated, turn them over and, after drying your finger, season the second side with the remaining salt-sugar mix, then rub with cognac.
Chop several of the dill sprigs quite fine, to yield a tablespoon or two.
Spread the rest of the sprigs on the serving platter. One by one, arrange the salmon slices flat, in an overlapping pattern, covering the dill. Sprinkle the chopped dill over the slices, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 hours. (After 1 hour, taste a small piece of the salmon, and
season with more salt, sugar, or cognac if needed.)
To serve, simple uncover the platter. Garnish with cucumber ribbons, if you like, and serve with any of the breads and other accompaniments suggested above.