Cuisine
Lox of
Love
By Katharine Browning
A
s winter recedes
into a memory and
blossoms awaken dormant
foliage, our thoughts on food
turn to lighter, more outdoorsy
and party-friendly fare. Something
my clients often request this time
of year when they entertain is my
lox platter. It is surprisingly easy
and looks very impressive on a table
with all the accouterments, like
bagels, cream cheese, capers, sliced
red onion and dill sprigs.
Here’s a little primer on the
differences between lox,
gravlax, and smoked salmon.
Smoked salmon is essentially a
blanket term for any salmon:
farmed, wild-caught, fillet, steak
and hot or cold smoked. Gravlax is
of Nordic origin and is cured in a
mixture of salt, sugar and dill.
Our recipe today is for lox,
simply the flesh of a salmon
cured in a plain salt-and-sugar
rub without the dill. I think it is
the easiest method as well as the
tastiest. You can always serve dill
on the side for those who like it (I
don’t) along with all the other
choices on the display table. It
also makes it easier to pair with
wine, as dill often clashes with
many varietals. I add a bit of
loose English Breakfast tea for an
added dimension and some slight
smokiness.
Please do try and find line-
caught fish, not farmed, for this
dish. Farmed salmon just doesn’t
measure up and this is where
spending the extra dollars per
pound will really make all the
difference. break some bags into the mixture if
that is all you have; you don’t have
to purchase it loose.
Recipe and Technique: You will also need:
Curing mix for lox: A plastic Ziploc bag large enough
to hold salmon without folding the
flesh.
1 cup regular sugar
3/4 cup kosher salt
2 tbsp loose English Breakfast tea.
The tea is optional, and you can just
This is enough to coat one pound
of salmon. If you buy more than
one pound, just double or triple the
recipe. It is pretty forgiving.
Enough cheesecloth (new or washed
in unscented detergent only) to
wrap the fish securely. >
MARIN ARTS & CULTURE 23