Gravlax or Cured Salmon

                     
I think the number one secret in these recipes is to choose the right file of fresh salmon.I use salmon but trout or tuna can be used instead and the fish must be fresh and very well chilled.
The process of curing meat it has been used in old time as a way to preserve meat from going off.
The salt and sugar cooks the meat by drawing a large amount of liquid. In the same way the Japanese came up with sushi. They needed a way to preserve for longer days the fish for their army in the war, so they covered the fish with raw rice, which absorbed all the liquid, keeping the fish drier and safer.
Usually a mix made from salt, sugar and herbs is rubbed onto the surface of the meat and leaved to cure for 2 days.
Ingredients:
1,5kg sides of salmon. Skin on, bones out
5 large spoon of Sugar
5 large spoon of Salt
300gr cooked and grated beetroot
2 lemons
100gr of fresh dill.
Preparation:
Wash off the fish on both sides and pat dry.
Mix sugar and salt in a small bowl and finely chop the dill.
Take enough plastic wrap and lay flat on counter and then sprinkle with 1/2 of the salt and sugar mixture.

Put fish on top and sprinkle remaining salt sugar mix on top of fish, and the chopped dill and the beetroot on top. Squeeze one lemon over the fish and slice another one on top of the fish.

Tightly wrap the fish and refrigerate with something fairly heavy on top, for 24-48 hours, until moisture has been drawn out of fish.

The longer the fillet is kept this way, the saltier it becomes. I think the salmon is better when it is only very lightly salted.
Remove from the plastic wrap and wipe off the salt. Slice thinly and serve.
You can freeze the salmon if you do not intend to eat it straight away. It'll keep about 3 months.
You can serve gravlax as it is, garnished with dill and lemon slices

 or with egg butter, soy sauce, pickled ginger, Wasabi paste,

or use it to make gravlax canapés over blini with sour cream and salmon caviar.

Here I use the slices of cured salmon on a wrap with cream cheese, capers, red onions and iceberg salad. I serve on a bufet table for a large party.

Here the salmon is marinated with Aquavit and juniper berry then chopped very fine and I served with sweet mustard sauce.

Here we marinate the trout with the dill, orange and lemon. We serve the trout with a Swedish cheese cake, lemon oil and baby salad.

Here I marinate the salmon with lime, ginger and coriander and served with sushi rice rolls and a soy- mirin sauce. As well you can enjoy the salmon with fresh salad or with scrambled eggs, or part of a quick creamy pasta sauce.
For all this recipes you can replace the cured salmon with smoked salmon for a quick version.

Enjoy. Pin It Now!

Teriyaki Salmon

Teriyaki Salmon it’s so simple, healthy and it is a great recipe for entertaining. Teriyaki is a Japanese way of cooking where the food is broiled, baked or grilled in a sweet soy sauce mixture. Many foods can be cooked in teriyaki style such as salmon, tuna, chicken, beef, tofu etc. It’s simple to make your own teriyaki sauce and only requires few ingredients: soy sauce, onion, brown sugar, mirin, ginger, garlic, sesame oil. Mirin is a sweet rice wine that is similar to sake and contains alcohol. You can make a lot of teriyaki sauce and store it in the fridge until needed. I recommend serving the Teriyaki salmon with rice or noodles and cucumber-coriander salad or pickle ginger, wasabi and mooli salad (white radish salad). If you have any leftover, this tasty sauce can also be used tossed through a crunchy cucumber salad or like I do, use it in julienne vegetables salad. You can cook the rice ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until need, no more than one day.

Ingredients:
4-200gr salmon filets
4 cups of cooked rice
For Teriyaki sauce:
100 ml soy sauce
100 ml mirin
50 ml sesame oil,
2 chopped onions,
50gr grated ginger,
50gr chopped garlic,
3 tablespoon brown sugar
For julienne vegetables salad:
1-red pepper
60gr white radish (mooli)
60gr zucchini
60gr carrots
coriander
60gr pickled ginger
2tbs mirin
2tbs sesame oil
2tbs lime juice
2tbs soy sauce
Directions
To make the sauce fry onions in a saucepan, then add all ingredients for the sauce and boil slowly until a syrupy consistency is achieved, about a 50 percent reduction. Let cool completely. Add salmon and marinate for 1 hour. Cook salmon with marinate in the oven at 180c for 10 min or until cooked. Do not overcook.

For the salad cut vegetables into very thin sticks. In a bowl, combine all vegetables and set aside. I chose and I recommend to don’t cook the vegetables to get all the benefit from fresh vegetables.
To make the dressing, in small bowl, combine sesame oil, mirin, lime juice, and soya sauce; mix thoroughly. Pour over vegetables and toss to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the teriyaki salmon with rice, julienne vegetables on top and garnish with fresh coriander and pickled ginger. Enjoy. Pin It Now!

Summer salmon symphony salad

It seems like we have so much to do this time of year and we have to think of something quick and easy to cook. Here is a good, easy recipe that you all can do this time of year.
I do understand the need for easy but elegant dining and I have served these both as a main meal and as a side dish without salmon and for a nice presentation I add a sprig of dill placed on the salad.
Ingredients for 4 servings:
4 x 180 gr salmon fillet
300 gr papaya cubes
200 gr radishes sliced
200 gr celery sticks sliced
200 gr cherry tomatoes halves
200 gr black olives
200 gr corn from fresh boiled cob, sliced
1 tbls honey
½ lemon
salt and pepper to taste
Champagne Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
10 sprigs parsley
juice from 1/2 lemon
100 ml champagne
50 ml olive oil
50 ml truffle oil
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

To made the Vinaigrette bring a small pot of salted water to a boil and blanch the parsley for 1 minute. Transfer the parsley to a blender; add the lemon juice, champagne, and oils and purée. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place the salmon fillets in a baking dish and season with lemon juice, salt and pepper and brush with honey. Bake the salmon fillet in the 200C oven for 8-10 min or until cooked and caramelized. Add the Vinaigrette in the mixing bowl. Add the other salad ingredients and toss well. Place the caramelized salmon fillet on top of the salad and serve.

Cooking tip: You can use any tropical fruits for this light summer entree salad. Pin It Now!

Smoked salmon pate

Because it is my first blog written recipe I chose a short one and without headaches.
This is a very easy and simple recipe with just five ingredients easily found and not too expensive. It is a perfect snack to serve in very different ways with smoked croûtons or celery sticks, or on a morning toast. As shown in the pictures I used this pate in more sophisticated menu as garnish on a soup. ex.Lobster soup with smoked salmon pate and grilled shrimp.

For this recipe I used:

 300gr smoked salmon
 500gr cream cheese 
 2 tablespoons chopped dill
 2 tablespoons chopped chive
 juice from one lemon
 salt and pepper.

Mix in a bowl finely chopped salmon with the rest of ingredients until a paste is form. Keep in refrigerator for half an hour for the flavor to came together before you serve. Use and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

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