BEETROOT CURED
SALMON GRAVADLAX
BY ADAM BYATT CHEF PROPRIETOR, TRINITY RESTAURANT
Method:
Weigh the salmon accurately, to check that you have
the right quantity of sugar and Maldon salt for the cure.
The sugar and salt combined in equal quantities should
be half the weight of your fish.
Remove the pin bones from the salmon and score the
skin in four places to allow the cure to be absorbed.
Wash, peel and roughly chop the beetroot. Peel the
zest from the orange and reserve it, then halve the fruit
and squeeze the juice.
Tip:
If beetroot isn’t your thing, simply omit and add
whatever takes your fancy, as long as the flavours are
pronounced.
A few of my favourite ingredients are star anise,
grapefruit and basil. Treat the grapefruit like the
orange in the recipe, and blend it to a pulp in the food
processor with the star anise, a handful of basil leaves,
the sugar and the Maldon salt.
The blend will not be eaten, so chunky pieces are fine.
Put the sugar and Maldon salt into a food processor.
Add the beetroot, tea leaves and dill with the orange
zest and juice, and blend to a fine pulp. Lay the salmon
skin-side down in a shallow ceramic dish and cover it
completely with the cure mixture. Cover the dish with
cling film and leave the salmon to cure for 4 days in the
fridge, turning the fish and basting it with the cure
mixture after 2 days.
When the curing time is up, scrape the cure off the
salmon and lift the fish out of the dish. Rinse the
remaining cure away under cold running water, then
pat the fish dry with a cloth – the flesh will be bright red
and firm to the touch.
Starting at the wider end of the salmon, slice it thinly
with a sharp knife angled slightly towards the opposite
end of the fish, stopping just before you get to the skin.
You should have about six slices per person. Lay these
slices on a plate and accompany them with sourdough
bread – and pots of goodies like caper berried and
pickled beetroot.
Ingredients
1 x 1kg filleted side of salmon 250g caster sugar 250g
Maldon salt 250g raw beetroot 1 large orange 10g
lemon verbena tea leaves half a bunch of dill
To serve: sourdough bread caper berries pickled
beetroot
Serves 8