Donal Skehan shares his delicious recipe for Beetroot Gravadlax, Crispbreads & Pickled Cucumber.
Ingredients:
- 1.4kg side of salmon, scaled
For beetroot cure
- 1 large raw beetroot, peeled and quartered
- Good handful of fresh dill, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons sea salt
- 4½ tablespoons caster sugar
- ½ tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ tablespoon wholegrain mustard
For the cucumber pickle
- 4 tablespoons caster sugar
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 1 cucumber, thinly sliced
- ½ tablespoons salt
- 1 small shallot, very thinly sliced
For the dill crème fraîche
- Good handful of fresh dill finely chopped
- 200ml tub crème fraîche
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Small circular Swedish crispbreads, to serve
- Fresh watercress and dill sprigs, to garnish
Method:
- For the beetroot cure, blitz the beetroot to a smooth purée and put in a bowl. Combine the dill, sea salt, caster sugar, honey, black pepper and mustard. Roll out a large piece of cling-film and sprinkle the base with half of the beetroot mixture. Place the salmon skin-side down on the beetroot mixture and top with the remaining mixture. Wrap the salmon tightly with the cling-film and give it an extra layer if you need to. Place the wrapped parcel in a high-sided dish and weigh it down with a plate and some full cans or whatever heavy item you have to hand.
- Leave the salmon to cure in the fridge for up to 5 days, turning halfway through. The dish will fill with juices but don’t be too concerned about draining them until you are ready to serve.
- For the cucumber pickle, mix the sugar and vinegar in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Mix in the salt and shallots and then add the cucumber slices. Cover with cling-film and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- For the dill crème fraîche, mix the dill, crème fraîche, lemon juice and black pepper in a bowl. Cover with cling-film and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- When you are ready to serve, unwrap the salmon and rinse off the cure under cold running water. Pat dry then slice thinly with a large knife. Arrange crispbreads on each serving plate and top with the slices of beetroot gravadlax and dollops of the dill crème fraîche and a small mound of cucumber pickle to each one. Garnish with the watercress and dill sprigs to serve.
